Broken Promise
by BlackIrisZero
Summary: Naruto battled with his conflicting feelings about Sakura's confession. All he wanted was for the love of his life to be happy but that seemed like a distant dream. He loved her - she wanted to love him. How could she? Her heart belonged to another. That was the beginning of the trials of their love.
1. Broken Promise

_A/N: This is a story I made thinking about Sakura's confession to Naruto. Though, it begins the same way there are quite a few changes towards the end. This is a head ups but there will be a lot of drama in this story. The fluff will come in small packages in the beginning but will become better as the story progresses.  
><em>

_ This is just a simple warning but there is slight lemon towards the end. It's small not anything too bad._

* * *

><p><em>0~0~0<em>

_Sakura's Confession_

_0~0~O_

* * *

><p>"Eh…?"<p>

"What…did…you say just now…Sakura-chan? I…dunno if…I heard you wrong. Can you say it again…?"

"What I said, Naruto…is that I love you!"

"I'm saying there's nothing between Sasuke and me anymore!" Sakura admitted. "I don't know what I was thinking, liking a person like that. I'm confessing my feelings here, so listen up!"

Naruto remained silent. He was physically stunned. Soon enough his expression grew sad, then confused, then determined. "But how…? Why…?"

"If you tell a joke like that in a situation like this…it ain't funny Sakura-chan…" Naruto added, slightly more harshly than he had wanted which surprised Sakura. "Just…what happened?"

A cold sweat fell down Naruto's forehead. From the moment, he got there Sakura had a look of guilt and shame. She was pushing herself to talk about this. But why?

"Nothing really, I just suddenly realized that there's no sense in continuing to like someone who's a fugitive and a criminal. I can't stay a kid forever…I want to face reality."

"So Naruto there is no need to keep that promise…won't you stop chasing Sasuke…?" Sakura said meekly. In a feeble attempt to hide the expression on her face she smiled slightly.

A spark went off in Naruto's head when those words reached his ears.

"What the hell are you…?" Yamoto tried to interfere but Kakashi held him back.

"Did something happen…Sakura-chan? Why me of all people, all of a sudden…?"

"Nothing happened! If you want to know why I started liking you, I'll say it clearly-"

Naruto furrowed his brow as his mind wandered to the past. An image of Sakura crying her eyes out entered his head.

"_Naruto this is all…I want in life…Sasuke-kun…bring Sasuke-kun back…" _

Naruto was roughly brought back to the present when Sakura wrapped her arms around him.

"Sasuke-kun just keeps getting further from me…but Naruto...you've always stayed by my side, you've encouraged me..." Sakura couldn't help but smile a bit as the image of a young Naruto grinning entered her mind.

"I finally realized who you really are, Naruto; the hero who protected the village - beloved by everyone in the village. I'm just one of them."

"That mischievous little dummy I knew….little by little is becoming this great and important man and I've been watching from right next to him. But all Sasuke's done is commit crimes and break my heart. More and more, he's becoming a different person than he was, so distant."

Naruto silently listened.

"But Naruto…you're right here where I can touch you like this…you make me feel safe. Right now, from the bottom of my heart I-"

Naruto roughly grabbed her shoulders. "Give me a break Sakura! I told you that joke's not funny."

"Have you flipped? I just switched from Sasuke to you-"

"_I hate people who lie to themselves!" _Naruto interupted.

"Wha?" Sakura's eyebrows furrowed "You think I'm lying to myself?"

"What else could it be?" Naruto kept yelling.

"Why won't you just believe what I'm saying?"

That ticked him off. This was a scene Naruto had dreamt about happening but why was he so unhappy about it? Why would she lie to him like this? All of this felt wrong in so many places.

"Do I need a reason to ignore the fact that you're lying?" He paused "I know how you feel about Sasuke, Sakura. You wouldn't just blow him off like this."

"I'm telling you the truth!" Sakura raised her arms into the air. She couldn't help but raise her voice. Naruto was angering her.

Naruto, in turn grew angrier with each word she said. "Stop it Sakura. Just stop it."

"Naruto, just listen to me!"

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "I've had enough of this I'm leaving."

"Naruto!" Sakura latched onto his shirt.

"Let go of me Sakura." Naruto brushed her hand off as he stormed off.

* * *

><p>Naruto's sleep was restless, and when he woke up, he had a horrible knot in his stomach.<p>

Sighing, he sat up on his bed and rubbed his eyes. Something caught his eye, and he blinked as he spotted the photo on his bedside table. Frowning, he picked it up. It was the old photo of team seven.

"_If we fight, we'll both die."_

Even Naruto had to admit that was a bold statement. Naruto finally had his fated meeting with Sasuke who seemed none too happy to see him. He had changed so much from the last time he saw him. Like the fact that he was taller than Naruto, but more importantly he could have seen how dark and malevolent Sasuke had become when they clashed.

Naruto sank into his bed resting his hand against his face.

He wanted nothing more than to save his best friend but even if Naruto managed to succeed would that really help with anything? Not only was he a missing-nin but he was now an S-class fugitive with a bounty on his head. Even if he brought Sasuke back to the village, he wasn't even sure he could protect him against the law and the Kages who wanted him dead.

Even if he did manage to change their minds what was stopping Sasuke from running and leaving again? If he did stay, he could have taken his anger and hatred out on anyone. He'd become a danger to himself and anyone around him.

Just what could Naruto do?

Naruto wasn't the only one who wanted him back. Sakura wanted Sasuke more than anything, even more so than Naruto.

It was then that he realized something frightful. His promise with Sakura; he couldn't keep it anymore. There is no possible way that he could have kept it. If he and Sasuke were to fight, he truly believed that the both of them would die.

Sasuke's strength was beyond what Naruto anticipated and it still was growing. Naruto wondered if he could have even taken on the young Uchiha at his current strength.

No matter the outcome, the results would be the same; Sakura would be left behind to endure nothing but grief and sadness. She'd be heartbroken. He didn't want her to believe that he had the resolve or the vision he had when he first made that promise.

Even with his current power, Naruto felt weaker than he had in years. He couldn't save his friend and he couldn't even keep the promise he made with the girl he loved.

The knot in his stomach, he was sure, was because of Sakura. He felt terribly guilty. He shouldn't have stormed off like that. He should have known better, but…

It wasn't yet dawn, but knowing Sakura, she would be up with the sun. Maybe she would be willing to talk to him then, though he wouldn't blame her if she never wanted to look at him again.

He only realized what her intentions were after he stormed off. Sai had told him everything. She tried to shoulder the burden that Naruto had been carrying for years, but no matter what Naruto couldn't disagree more with the way she voiced it. He knew she meant well but it wasn't the right way.

He wrestled with himself and his numerous emotions for the remainder of the night, until he finally made a decision. No matter what he did, Sakura was going to end up hurt.

Making a decision about what he was going to do next made the knot in his stomach loosen a bit. It gave him a sense of control, because right now he feared he had no control. Not that he had always been able to control what happened to and around him in the first place.

Naruto stared at the photo numbly for several long moments, and then jumped to his feet, racing out his door

Things couldn't go on like this forever.

* * *

><p>His heart raced and his palms were sweaty when her vision cleared and he found himself standing in Sakura's tiny balcony. He held his breath and stared at the door; half-afraid Sakura would burst out at any second and destroy him for disturbing her so late. Taking a deep breath, he strode toward the door and tapped lightly.<p>

"Hey, Sakura-chan," He whispered, "It's Naruto. I have something to tell you."

No response.

"Hey, Sakura-" Before Naruto could finish, the door slid open and Naruto's head reeled back as he felt his cheek become red hot. Sakura had just punched him in the face.

"Just what time do you think it is, you pinhead?" Sakura groaned, clearly irate and tired.

" Ow!" He rubbed his sore cheeks, "I have something I need to talk to you about."

"Can't that wait until morning?" Sakura glared, and Naruto shook his head in response.

"Fine, come in."

Naruto hadn't entered Sakura's room in a long while but the uneasiness from the first visit was ever present.

"Well? Spill it."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head nervously as he felt his tongue swell up in that very instant. How was he even supposed to tell her? He didn't want to sadden Sakura anymore. Wasn't he just making things worse by coming here? He really jumped the gun on this one.

"You didn't plan on getting this far, did you?" Sakura's anger seemed to grow by the second. A cold sweat fell down his forehead as he scratched his head. She sighed.

"Wake up Naruto!" Sakura shouted as she grabbed his collar and lightly slapped his face over and over.

"Alright you can stop!"

Ignoring his cries, Sakura held Naruto in the air with contempt trying not to punch the daylights out of him.

It was all so sudden. His heart rate quickened as he continued to gaze into her eyes. What he saw in them was so familiar; it was what he had seen in ever increasing amounts the past months. Sakura had grown. Physically, they definitely weren't kids anymore.

It was what he himself had felt whenever he was around her. Because she was Sakura and she was becoming a woman.

Sakura figure wasn't as glamorous as a model's but over the years her body grew beautifully. Her slender curvaceous body would drive any man crazy and even though her breasts hadn't grown to Tsunade's super size he found himself unable to look away.

It was then that her hug from the morning flashed through his mind. Her body was amazingly soft and Naruto couldn't deny that he enjoyed her pressing herself against him. It made Naruto's heart race.

Sudden, instinctive terror crashed down upon him, and his entire body tensed. He almost shoved her away, but managed to keep himself in check by clenching his hands into fists. Sakura noticed that Naruto wasn't being himself and let him down.

"Naruto?"

He pulled away instantly, his face flushed. "I'm sorry. It's nothing."

Why was he staring at her so much? It's not like she was any different than she usually was.

Sakura wore a really frilly light pink evening gown that more than clearly showed off her cleavage. It hugged her body ever so tightly allowing Naruto to see every curve as she moved. Naruto's heart suddenly jumped when he realized that the two of them were alone - a boy alone with a girl in her bedroom at night. Not good.

"Hey," Sakura waved her hand in his face "What are you staring at?"

Naruto was suddenly pulled into reality when he noticed how close Sakura's face was to his. As fate would have it, his senses returned to him. He felt guilty. _What am I doing?_

"Oh sorry, I blanked out for a bit there." He could still feel Sakura's soft body pressed against him. He shook his head trying to dispel the sudden rush of intense hormonal stimuli that messed with his head.

"I'm the sleepy one here. Why are you dozing off?" Sakura slapped her cheeks lightly to keep herself awake. She plopped down on the edge of her bed, crossing her legs while Naruto followed suite sitting on her rug.

"Ok, I'll just come out with it. I have a few things to tell you. Sakura-chan, I want you to know I didn't come hear bearing good news. So I want you to brace yourself. "

"What's wrong?" Sakura unconsciously moved closer to Naruto.

"Sakura-chan, remember what I said to you this morning?" Sakura rather not remember, "I came here to apologize about that."

"Naruto…"

"I'm sorry. I meant to say something else but it just ended up coming out that way. It was harsh and uncalled for, so I'm sorry." Naruto bowed.

"Naruto…I-"

"But, there is another reason I came here. You must have realized it to from my conversation with Sasuke but," Naruto's confidence was suddenly nowhere to be found "No. I can't say it."

Naruto quickly got up and made his way to the balcony but Sakura grabbed the sleeve of his shirt. She looked up to him with her green pleading eyes

"I'm sorry Sakura-chan, but I can't tell you. I'm sorry for wasting your time." Naruto grabbed the ledge but then he felt warm hands wrap around his back preventing him from leaving.

"Naruto!"

Sakura wasn't about to let him go. Naruto could feel her breast pressing against him. In the dark corner of his mind he wanted her. He wanted her nothing more than to grab her, throw her onto the bed and have his way with her. But he couldn't just lay his hands on his friend like that.

This wasn't why he was her. He was here to deliver a message but…

He forcefully removed the dark thoughts from his head, grabbed the ledge and prepared to jump.

"Sakura-chan…I…I have to go." Naruto had to leave and fast. If he didn't he was afraid of what would happen if he stayed.

"Naruto! Talk to me!" Sakura tightly wrapped her arms around his waist pressing her entire being into his back. Naruto could feel his urges surfacing again.

"If I fight Sasuke, we are both going to die!"

"Huh?"

"You heard me at the river! I can't stop him without losing my life in the process. I can't save him. I can't bring Sasuke back to you! I can't keep our promise anymore!" He said it.

"I…"

_Of course she wouldn't have anything to say._

"I'm sorry for being so weak. I'm sorry that I couldn't make you happy. I'm sorry for making an empty promise with you. Just let me go and I'll be on my way."

Naruto felt low. Lower than low. He didn't deserve to be friends with her. He couldn't save his best friend. He couldn't make her smile like she used to. He couldn't do anything. "Sakura let me go."

"No!"

A tear slid out from under Sakura's eyelid and traced a path down her cheek. She didn't move to wipe it away, hoping he wouldn't see it in the darkness of the night.

"Sakura-chan…?"

"You don't have to keep that promise!"

Naruto didn't know what to make of the situation. The promise that they made meant the world to her. How could she say something so irresponsible?

"But-"

"No!"

Naruto, against his better judgment, realized that talking to her about it became useless. Rather than argue with her for hours, he thought that maybe calming her down would help. And so, he managed to turn around with Sakura's vice-like grip on his body, only to be greeted with the streams of tears were dripping down her face.

_This_ was what Naruto wanted to avoid at all costs. The scene was similar to the moment he made his promise with her. How could he possibly calm her down when his actions only served to bring back the feelings that she wanted to bury?

"Naruto, I love you!"

Naruto gave her a blank look. _This again?_

"I love you! Is that so hard for you to believe?" She queried, her large emerald pupils peering into his cerulean orbs. He couldn't answer her as his sense of self decayed long ago. He wasn't sure of what to believe in anymore.

"I've known you for years, and not for one minute have you thought that I wouldn't fall for someone like you? A person who's always there for me, a person who always thinks of me first, and a person who saves me from the messes I constantly get myself into."

She was suddenly, irrationally angry at Naruto. Angry that he had followed their promise like a way of life, angry that he had been hurting himself for so long just for her, and she allowed her anger to wash over her for about ten seconds before she shoved it away. But shortly afterwards, a torrent of 'discouraging' emotions filled her.

This was not his fault. She was the one who selfishly pushed her desires on him; she had been the one who always relied on him when she was too weak to do anything for herself. But she had always felt safe with him, even walking through deadly forests and deserts. Even when facing monsters and homicidal ninjas.

"I know how dark and evil Sasuke has become. I saw it with my own eyes." She bit her lip and looked up to him, "I know, ok? I know that I still have feelings for him but Naruto…_please_ stop hanging onto that promise!"

"You don't have to protect me anymore! I'm not the same little girl I was 2 years ago! So please…just stop it…"

He was finding himself increasingly frustrated, both at himself and at her. Frustrated at himself because he wanted to help her and he wasn't sure anything he did actually helped at all. She was trying to convince herself-and him-that she was okay, and he knew she wasn't.

He knew because he was the one who saw her crying for Sasuke in that hospital room. He was the one who saw the look of utter devastation that came into her eyes when she woke up the morning Sasuke had left. He was the one who saw her, practically a walking mess, after he left.

He gritted his teeth roughly, deciding that he couldn't let her do that to herself "I just wanted you to keep smiling! That's the only reason I made that promise in the first place!"

"You don't have to let that one promise rule your life!"

"I don't have a choice! I just want to make you happy!"

"Naruto by holding onto that promise you're only hurting me!"

"Then what am I supposed to do!"

"Let it go! Just…let it go…" Sakura felt her body momentarily weaken, and with that her legs gave out. But before she could collapse to the floor Naruto caught her in his arms.

"Sakura…" Naruto looked at her with a solemn expression on his face.

Just what was he hoping to accomplish? He was confusing himself. His original goal was to tell Sakura that the promise was now impossible to keep but just now he was defending it. Did he want to keep to the promise or not? He didn't even know anymore. All that mattered was the girl who silently cried in his arms.

"Why are you going so far for me…?" She asked as Naruto carried her back to her bed. He couldn't read her expression, since her head was still downcast even after he put her on the bed.

"…because we're friends…" Naruto replied, almost automatically, as he plopped down on the far side of the bed.

"Liar."

"Sakura-chan! I want Sasuke back as much as you do but-"

"Aren't you the one who told me you hated people who lie to themselves?"

Naruto froze.

In a matter of seconds, Sakura got on all fours and closed the distance between the two as she crawled over to him. Sakura placed her hand on his shoulders, pushing him against her bedroom wall and slowly tightened her grip.

"_You're such a hypocrite, Naruto__._"

"I'm telling you the truth." Naruto retorted angrily.

"No 'friend' would go this far."

"Of course they would!"

"How many times…how many times have you almost died…_died_ to protect me?"

He didn't respond.

"You can't answer, can you?"

Naruto still couldn't see her face. He had no idea where she was going with her current line of questioning. But what truly scared Naruto was the fact that she sat over his thighs, bringing her face only a few inches away from his. What was she planning?

"And now you're going to kill yourself again, _for me_. I want to know why."

"...It's because...I…"

"Say it, loud and clear."

"I love you dammit! I've loved you ever since we were kids!"

After a long moment of silence, Sakura began to speak up as if a heavy burden had been lifted off her shoulders. (Naruto was the one who should have felt like that.)

"There. Was that so hard?"

Sakura pressed her forehead down against his chest. Naruto didn't respond. He didn't move. He didn't think. He just sat there, not knowing what to think or feeling. What he did feel however, was emotionally numb.

What did Sakura hope to achieve with this? She said it herself that she still had feelings for Sasuke. In the end, she was just tugging at his heart strings.

"Now it's your turn. Do you remember what I said today?"

"…about what?"

"I said that you didn't need to bring Sasuke back for my sake."

"You mean your confession?" Naruto remembered clearly, turning away from her. "It felt less like a confession and more like a huge lie."

"What I said about you wasn't a lie but what I said about Sasuke…that was a lie. I'm sorry." Sakura looked up to him with dewy eyes, "I can't forget about him and I do still feel for him but I do love you. I really do."

Naruto took some time to respond but when he did his face faltered. "What are you saying…? Which one is it? Me or Sasuke?"

"He still has a place in my heart. I don't deny that. But rather hope for a love that will possibly never come true I rather have love from someone in my reach." Her hand reached for his face and gently stroked it. She stared at him for what felt like an eternity, pondering about what he had been through for her sake. She took a long breath to calm herself down and slowly brought her face closer, allowing her lips to make contact with his.

Sakura slowly pulled away noticing that Naruto had his eyes opened. It was to be expected that he'd be surprised. Sakura gingerly touched where Naruto's lips had been as she spoke, "It's rude to keep your eyes open during a kiss."

"What..?"

"All I'm asking is a little more time to sort out my feelings. I can't let go of him. I don't have the strength to. I know that I don't have the right to ask this of you since I rely on you so much as it is. But I have one finally request from you Naruto. Could you please help me forget?"

How could he have answered that?

"Please?"

Naruto felt his chest tighten when he noticed that her slender shoulders were shivering. Without, conscious thought wrapped his arms around her tightly pulling her into his chest. Soon enough the tears began to pour out and Naruto found himself squeezing her tighter.

Seconds turned into minutes, minutes into hours. The two stayed in that position. No words were said. No words needed to be said. Sakura occasionally nuzzled deeper into Naruto's neck and Naruto in turn kissed the crown of her head. Finally Sakura couldn't take the uncomfortable silence.

"Hey…"

"Hm?"

"I want to show you how serious I am." Sakura notched her head up; allowing Naruto to see the questionable look Sakura was giving him.

"Huh?"

"I want to show you that I'm all yours." She grabbed his large warm hand and hesitantly brought it to her chest. "You can do whatever you want."

"Sakura what are you-?" After years of wanting to touch her, when provided with the chance (after all those punches she gave him for even thinking of it) he choked up. His face colored red and so did hers.

"Don't make me repeat it…" Sakura's eyes wandered around the room trying to avoid his.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Naruto asked, suddenly afraid that if he went too far, he would hurt her. Sakura slowly closed her eyes and nodded.

"But-"

"Naruto…" Sakura's voice had none of its usual roughness; her voice was sultry and weak.

Without hesitation he gently pressed his lips against Sakura's. A spark flashed in his brain. It was like a sudden rush of electricity. His gentle kiss suddenly became rougher, deeper and more affectionate.

After only a moment, a sweet moan escaped from Sakura's mouth when Naruto moved his hand up and down the back of her leg. Her skin was smooth and impossibly soft. He let his hand wander to the edge of her panties, feeling the well-toned cheeks of her ass before dragging his fingers back down to her knees.

Naruto changed his target from her lips to her ear, while he slowly undressed her. Naruto moved down from her ears to her neck kissing her softly before he increased the suction.

His kissing and sucking were making fluttery sensations much more acute inside of her stomach. The combination was making Sakura forget about everything except his touches. She wasn't sure what to do with her hands, so settled for grabbing the blanket. She started making small noises, her breath catching in her throat every few seconds.

_Oops_, he thought _that's going to leave a hickey._

"Be gentle with me…"

"I will." Naruto grinned as the two continued into their passionate night as they embraced each other.

* * *

><p>The light shone through brightening the dim room. Naruto was half-asleep wondering why he couldn't move his upper body. When he looked to the side, he noticed that Sakura had claimed his right arm as her own personal pillow. Sakura groaned as she turned in bed. She slept soundly with a small smile on her face. She was probably dreaming about something amazing.<p>

"Sakura! It's time to get up!" A knocking came at Sakura's door.

"Ugh, five more minutes mom…" Sakura automatically responded, still half-asleep.

"No way young lady, you get up right this instant!" Her mother commanded. Since Sakura didn't respond, she went ahead with opening the door.

Naruto would have disappeared from the moment he heard Sakura's mom's voice, but Sakura currently had him pinned down to the bed with no hopes of escaping in time.

_Well,_ _this should be interesting…_

* * *

><p><em>AN: I don't know about anyone else but I truly believe if Naruto and Sakura ended up together their conversation about it would be similar to this._ So I'll try to keep the characters and story as canon as possible to stay true to the Naruto story. _  
><em>


	2. Recurring Feelings

_0~0~0  
><em>

_Recurring Feelings_

_0~0~0_

* * *

><p>The morning sunlight barely pierced through the thick white clouds allowing for pale light to shine down bathing the area in a yellow hue. At the crack of dawn the sun peaked out from behind mountain tops. The first rays of the sun graced the Earth. The clouds became lit with a fabulous, warm light as the rising sun announced the coming of a new day.<p>

Basking under the sun's warm glow, a lone girl practiced her combat skill on the three training dummies at the training ground. She had been giving it her all.

Her short pink hair was ruffled and messy from her constant movements, her emerald green eyes burn with ferocity and her muscles ached under the sweat that slid along her creamy white skin. She wore a light pink tank top and a pair of black tights to allow her body to breathe properly.

She was so focused on her training that she completely zoned out on her surroundings. She had no time to notice anything else.

"I thought I'd find you here," A cool voice came from behind "Still at it, huh?"

She whipped her head around to find a blonde with an all too familiar smile on his face. "How long have you been watching me?" The girl asked her eyebrows raised.

"Eh, I lost count after 30 minutes," He rubbed the back of his neck with a carefree grin spread on his face.

His bright aura complimented his light fair skin and his topaz blue eyes always revealed a mischievous spark behind them. He wore a large orange shirt with a black spiral in the front - the symbol of the Uzumaki clan - with a pair of black pants.

"You could stand to join me."

"They gave us a week off duty to rest up and I intend to do that."

"As always, Naruto, you're lazing about," Sakura shook her head slowly before she returned to the dummies.

"And as always Sakura-chan, you're pushing yourself too hard."

"When have I ever done that?"

Naruto stared at her questioningly.

"What about the time I found you sleeping in Baa-chan's library?"

"It was research. There were some important facts about the potency of various herbs that I had to know!"

"What about the time you got a fever because you didn't want to leave the hospital?"

"Patients were pouring in! It's not like I could have just left them there!" Sakura by now had stopped her training and focused on answering Naruto's questions.

"What about the time you fractured your arm and _still_ showed up in the hospital for work?"

That day was still fresh in Naruto's memory. He had heard that Sakura fractured her arm from one of her missions but when he found her heading off to the hospital he couldn't believe his eyes. Tsunade had given her clear orders to stay off of duty for 3 weeks but after only 3 days she couldn't take it anymore and left for work.

"You pulled me out before I could have done anything anyway!"

"More like you beat me senseless when I tried to, then when you finally hurt your arm again you gave in."

"Whatever!"

"Ok then, what about the time I found you _here_ completely drained of strength and chakra?"

"That was…"

That incident happened a few years ago. Naruto and Sasuke dropped by Team Seven's training area on a passing whim when they founded Sakura's exhausted body on the ground. Based on the damage she had done to dummies (and to herself) they swore that she had been venting her anger rather than training.

"Fine! I'll take a five minute break." She sulked, resting her back against the dummy. Naruto relaxed as he pulled beside one of the dummies imitating her.

It wasn't like she wanted to but she couldn't help herself. Her mind wandered to the past. She knew it was unhealthy but she felt strangely happy. Everything in the area became a reminder of him. It brought both along with it painful and happy memories.

She was well aware of the danger of thinking of him this way but how could she not? She missed him terribly.

"You know even after you found me here, why did I end up being carried home by Sasuke?"

"…I knew you'd enjoy it more if he was the one who did it." Naruto answered hesitantly.

"I did. I felt so happy that I could die. It was one of the few times I could've sworn that he cared." Sakura pressed her hand against the training dummy. "We had so many good times here, the three of us."

Her mouth went on, ignoring the messages that her brain kept sending telling her to stop.

"Hey, remember the time Kakashi-sensei brought us here to 'develop our teamwork skills'?"

Naruto hummed not really answering.

"It was just an excuse to get us to clean the training ground after a bunch of academy graduates tore it up. You and Sasuke made a little competition to see which one of you could clean faster and as usual you two only made it worse until it escalated into a fight. Kakashi-sensei and I were so angry but I was so proud of the both of you."

"You always pushed each other to your limits even if it always blew up in your faces."

Naruto by now had wrapped his arms around Sakura's slender shoulders. Soon enough she could feel warm tears on her collar bone. "Naruto, what's wrong?"

"It's ok, Sakura-chan." Naruto cooed tightening his grip on her.

"What are you talking about? I'm fine."

"Then why are you crying?"

Sakura soon realized that the tears she felt were her own. She had been crying the entire time. She knew this had been coming. She mentally prepared herself for it every morning she came to Team 7's training area but even so nothing could have stopped her emotions when they ran amok. Sakura fought back the emotions she held back for so long. She tried, she tried so hard.

"_I'm sorry Sakura. I can't bring him back."_

In that instance, all the emotion that she held back came gushing forth as Sakura collapsed into Naruto's embrace and began bawling like a newborn baby. She poured everything out in that moment.

_No more. No more of this. I can't take this anymore..._

She promised herself that day; that this was the last time she was ever going to shed a single tear.

* * *

><p>It began as a small whim on her part but with her current state of mind she'd rather do anything else that could have helped get her mind of Sasuke. The five minute break was well over and Naruto had nothing better to do so he wouldn't say no.<p>

"Naruto, I want you to spar with me." Sakura asked getting to her feet.

"…you sure?" Naruto asked worriedly.

"Yeah, two clones should be fine."

The girl's brows furrowed as her mouth went into a scowl "Bring it."

The first clone lunged forward with an amazing right hook aiming at her face but she simply slapped his hand away with lightning fast speed and with her left fist she punched the clone directly in his gut. The clone had vanished in an instant.

_One down,_ she thought as she searched for the other. As if by instinct, she sensed the other clone in the air space behind her. All she had to do was swing her leg through the air but the moment she laid eyes on him a memory from the not so distant past enter her mind.

"_Sasuke!" Naruto charged straight for dark-haired ninja in blue and white who didn't seem to be interested in the fight at all. It was a simple sparring match but as usual Naruto took it seriously. _

"_You're full of openings, dobe." Sasuke effortlessly caught Naruto's fist then he swept his left leg knocking him off his feet and buried his right knee into the ramen-loving boy's gut. _

"_Gah!" Naruto fell without question._

"_Sasuke! Even if it is sparring that's going too far!" Sakura yelled._

"_He'd learn nothing if I went easy on him." Sasuke scoffed. _

"_Heh," Naruto chuckled. _

"_What's so funny?" Sasuke asked._

"_You." _

_In that moment, Naruto vanished with a puff of smoke, only to reappear in the air space behind the young Uchiha – a clone. Sasuke who had no choice but to guard brought his arms up but it was done in vain as the blonde kicked him in the jaw sending him into the unprepared Kunoichi. Without thinking Sakura caught the young Uchiha only to be flown along as well. _

_When Sakura opened her eyes, she could have sworn her heart stopped beating. Her cheeks instantly flushed and she found herself at a loss of words. Sasuke's face was inches from hers. The Uchiha boy had her pinned to the ground (or at least that's what it looked like). Just a little more and they'd be kissing! _

"_Ahhh! Sakura I'm sorry!" Naruto apologized over and over but Sakura mind was far from focusing on her environment._

"_Tch," Sasuke got up with a grunt and returned to his previous position. _

_Naruto had been telling her something but the damage was already done. She was in a blissful heaven._

When Sakura regained conscious thought, she had pondered for a short while why she had been on the ground. Her ears were ringing and the present-day Naruto was yelling something at her.

"…kura! Sakura! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sakura rubbed her head, groggily getting to her feet. "Sorry, I blanked out for a moment there."

"Are you sure? I hit you pretty hard. I thought you'd block it."

"It's ok Naruto," Sakura gently pounded on both her cheeks "Again, but with one more clone."

Naruto didn't respond. He looked at Sakura for what seemed like an eternity as if trying to gaze into her mind's eye. Soon after, he finally brought his hands together summoning numerous clones.

In an instant three clones separated from the group and Sakura began fighting them off on instinct but to Sakura it wasn't enough. The clones were simply ducking and weaving around her blows.

"Naruto don't you dare take it easy on me!" She yelled grabbing a clone by the head slamming it to the ground. His actions were only creating empty pockets of space in Sakura's mind where memories of _him_ could have popped up at any second. She didn't want that. She didn't want to think. She wanted to focus at the task at hand but Naruto was making that difficult for her when he held back.

"Send all of them."

"No."

"Naruto!"

Naruto gritted his teeth roughly as he launched his entire army of clones. There were so many it was hard for her to keep track of what was going on. She threw punches, delivered kicks and dropped elbows for what seemed like hours. The situation was similar to her fight with the puppet master Sasori.

She ducked, weaved and countered pushing herself beyond her limits but it still wasn't enough. Sakura got knocked down as many times as she put down the clones but whenever one disappeared; two appeared in its place. There was just no end to them.

She was soon out of chakra and was forced into normal combat. She was weakening and it showed; her movements became sluggish and her recovery times became longer. Soon enough, she found herself on the ground once more.

"Again."

"That's enough!" Naruto roared.

"…oh." Sakura shrank.

"I don't know what you're thinking but whatever you're doing now isn't the best way to do it!" As if Naruto's gruff tone wasn't enough, the other clones decided to join in.

"Yeah! All this is doing hurting you."

"Both physically and mentally."

"It's going to tired you out!"

"I bet you don't even have any chakra left to heal your wounds."

"…I'm sorry."

Naruto sighed furiously scratching his head in an irritated manner. "Look my house is closer and I've got some ointment, food and you can use my bed to rest up."

"…ok."

Naruto in one swift movement picked her off her feet and launched himself over the lake and towards the village. He noticed that Sakura tugged on his shirt tightly in an effort to snuggle closer to him. He didn't know what to think of that.

* * *

><p>Sakura let the cold drops from the shower head cool off her overheated body. After a good long workout a cool shower was always well appreciated. Not only was her body cooled off, but her head as well. After Naruto's scolding she managed to regain control of her mind but that did little good as the damage was already done.<p>

Naruto returned to his apartment without a single word. He pointed the way to the shower and that's all he did. She didn't know what to make of it.

Sakura dragged her body out of the shower, wrapping the rather large orange towel around her body. _He really loves orange doesn't he? _Sakura looked over to the sink where two peculiar items caught a hold of her sight - a large white shirt with a pair of rose pink panties.

Last time she checked Naruto didn't own panties nor did she leave any when she visited which could have only meant that they were someone else's. Was he cheating on her? No. Naruto would never do anything like that.

On a hunch, she checked the garbage bin in the bathroom and lo and behold a large plastic wrap and a price tag. In the time she had spent in the bathroom Naruto had already rushed to store to buy her undergarments. She couldn't have imaged the store clerk's face when a rather manly boy bought a pair of frilly panties.

The thought alone made her giggle but she was suddenly assaulted with the urge to see Naruto right away. Quickly get dressed she made her way to the living room where Naruto was lazily watching the television screen.

"I'm done." She blurted stupidly, stating the obvious.

"You're done." He parroted. Turning to face her, his cerulean orbs opened and his jaw dropped slightly. His mouth went dry as he looked at her. His shirt only reached her upper thigh so it exposed most of her legs.

Sakura flushed under his watchful eyes, as she nervously shifted her legs about. Her cheeks were pink, he saw, and he suddenly felt an unbearable urge to ravage her. But he knew that this wasn't the time for that.

"Thank you for running out to buy this for me. I really appreciate it." She thought she'd change the topic before things got out of hand.

"No problem. Your clothes are in the wash right now and it will take a while for it to dry."

"I don't mind. I really don't have any plans for the day." Sakura joined Naruto on the couch. It was an innocent gesture but the two immediately tensed up. Sakura's eyes wandered to his every so often, wondering what he had on his mind.

"I'm going to go take a shower." Naruto abruptly stood up and headed into the bathroom.

She hugged her legs, sighing heavily as he left the room.

Was he angry?

_Of course he was angry._

She had been pushing herself again. To make matters worse, she did it directly after he made several examples of her past screw ups over the years. And as usual, she didn't listen.

He said that she was hurting herself, but she wasn't the only victim. She had been hurting Naruto for years with her actions. Yet still she went ahead with her own selfish desires.

_It was always like this, wasn't it? Because of me, Naruto would always get hurt. How much has he suffered because of me? _

It must have crushed him when she went on about Sasuke. Naruto just stood there and listened and even helped her when it came to Sasuke. They even came up with a few schemes to have Sasuke fall in love with her. They all blew up in her face but Naruto didn't want to give up for _her_ sake.

Naruto did everything for her but she didn't lift a finger to help him when he needed it. At first he was a pain, but she slowly began to see Naruto for what he truly was. But in the end, she was blinded by her childish behavior and emotions.

"_Naruto this is all…I want in life…Sasuke-kun…bring Sasuke-kun back…" _

If only she hadn't asked that of him…It must have broken his heart. Her mind wandered to the scene where Naruto left to bring Sasuke back. _'You really love him don't you?' 'Don't worry, Sakura-chan! I'll bring him back!'_

It was right in front of her. Did she subconsciously choose to ignore his feelings? Why did she grow attached to someone who didn't care for her? Why did she shun the one who did? What was wrong with her?

She had been taking his feelings for granted from the start. And now she was using him. She felt horrible. Sick even.

"Naruto…" Sakura unconscious cried out his name, pressing her face against her legs. It was then that Sakura noticed that the shirt she wore smelled faintly of him. It was a strange sensation but her heart felt fuzzy and warm. It was the same warmth that Naruto filled her with everyday.

Suddenly, she wanted to see him. She missed the warm smile he gave her every morning. She wanted to feel him. She missed the warmth from his loving embraces.

Why was she feeling like this? It was a brand new emotion surging forth from her body but before she had time to realize what it was, Naruto emerged from the bathroom.

"I never noticed before but you have a nice view of the village from here."

Naruto said nothing he continued to wipe his wet hair off with the towel after he exited the shower. He was half naked with only a pair of short black pants.

_Still mad, huh?_

Sakura blankly stared at the television screen until a small brown cup was placed in her face "Here."

He had brought her tea.

"Thank you."

She gingerly accepted the hot drink and watched Naruto sit beside her.

Sakura wanted to be closer to him. She wanted to tell him that she was sorry. She wanted to do so much but…did she deserve to? Or better yet, did Naruto deserve her with the way she was now? Hadn't she done enough? She felt like she was toying with Naruto's feelings.

From the corner of her eye, she noticed that his eyebrows were slightly nit behind his impassive face. He was trying to hide his anger. She tried to open her mouth to say something but no words came out. She was drawing blanks on what she should do.

Without touching the hot liquid inside, she placed the cup down on the counter and continued to gaze mindlessly into the flickering screen.

Sakura had to have thought that she was dreaming. A moment ago, she was ready to give up on herself but now she wasn't sure of what to think. Naruto effortlessly stretched his arm over her slender shoulders and pulled her to him. Without a word, he continued to stare at the television while keeping a firm grip on her.

She gazed curiously into his eyes, which retained its usual impassiveness, for any sign of explanation but there was nothing. But rather than wait for Naruto to speak up, she had to apologize to him. She at least owed him that.

"Naruto, I really am sorry for everything."

"I know."

"No you don't. I'm apologizing for any and every thing that I've done to hurt you over the years." Sakura pulled away from him momentarily "I'm apologizing for shunning your feelings and using you for my own selfishness."

Naruto's expression turned into a mix of confusion, surprise and sudden realization. Naruto gently reclaimed it's position on Sakura's shoulder and pulled her right back "Sakura, it's ok. You don't have to apologize."

"But-!"

"You're an easy girl to read, Sakura. I know you've been brooding over this for a while now." Naruto gently combed his hand through her hair, "From what I saw just now you were about to give up right?"

"Yeah…"

"This means you've seen the error of your ways." She nodded slowly "Then you don't need to say anything more."

"…you are so weird, Naruto Uzumaki. You're so…so…"

"Romantic?" He grinned.

"Idiotic."

It was well in the afternoon and Sakura's clothes had long since dried in the washing machine. The two sat in the silence for hours watching whatever program flashed across the screen. Naruto hadn't moved much in the last few hours, but Sakura had already cycled through resting on his shoulders, lap and chest numerous times.

Her morning exhaustion began to take effect as her restlessness grew. Her eyelids began to drop from time to time so it was apparent that she struggled to stay awake. Naruto couldn't take it anymore. He shifted himself on the couch and rested his back against the arm of the chair.

"Come on." He offered tapping on his chest lightly.

Normally Sakura would put up a little fight but right now she didn't feel like resisting. She raised her legs onto the couch and crawled on top of Naruto resting her head on his broad chest. A smile touched her lips as Naruto folded one arm around her and held her snugly against him.

"Hey Naruto?"

Before he answered, he looked into her eyes, "Yeah?"

"Can I sleep with you tonight?"

They looked at each other for a moment; her eyes sparkled while Naruto's grew wider until his lips curved into a smile. That was answer enough even before he whispered back, "Of course."

Sakura smiled, her eyes closing, and breathed a contented sigh against Naruto's chest as she drifted off to sleep, wrapped snugly-and warmly-in his arms.

* * *

><p>AN:_This chapter was so tough for me to end for one reason or the other._ _ I feel like I messed up along the line but that's for you guys to decided._


	3. Nightmare

_0~0~0_

_Nightmare_

_0~0~0_

* * *

><p>The chilly night air was brutal and unforgiving. Even the drizzling of the rain couldn't hide the pink haired kunoichi's sobs.<p>

Her Sensei's body had remained untouched and was growing colder by the moment. Sakura rested her body against Sai who surprisingly wrapped his arms around her shoulder in her moment of weakness to provide some kind of support for her.

Sai didn't really enjoy this but he couldn't just leave Sakura in the cold rain. He knew the feeling of loss before, but as he was (unsympathetic), he couldn't exactly offer Sakura any other support than this. Even though Naruto wasn't around, he could hear his voice 'Give her support'.

Sakura' cries continued long past her sensei's untimely demise and it was driving Sai insane.

"Sakura, I understand that he was important to you but your sniveling won't bring him back." Sai remarked.

"I'm sorry…" Sakura responded weakly.

"And stop crying…he wouldn't like it…"

"I'm…sorry…" Sakura responded almost mechanically. Sai sighed and continued to stare into the dark forest below for any signs of movement. He was extremely wary of enemy forces making a move on them. In their current state, they were easy prey.

It had all happened so quickly.

_0~0~0_

_Kakashi suddenly appeared in Sakura's face. Through his mask, a dark red liquid began to pour out until it splashed on her face when he began coughing. The blood landed on Sakura's face and chest, but that was the least of her concerns. _

_She was mortified. She was quite literally petrified, for a giant sword had pierced her sensei's torso. _

"_You've been a nuisance for far too long Kakashi," A cold voice bellowed. _

_In a split second, Madara appeared in front of her but Kakashi threw his body into the way as a shield. Madara chuckled as he twisted the giant blade from within Kakashi causing the blood to spew out. _

"_YOU BASTARD!" A loud roar bellowed from the boy next to Sakura. He was immediately sent into an anger driven frenzy as he lunged at Madara, already in his 6-tailed form. He furiously sliced his large claws through the air, with full intention of beheading the Uchiha. The masked man pulled his sword out of Kakashi just in time to block Naruto's strike._

"_Pathetic Naruto-kun, pathetic!" Madara sneered "Always relaying on the Kyuubi's power! Sasuke is more powerful than you will ever be, even with the Kyuubi's power! You aren't even fit enough to be in my presence." _

_The Uchiha pointed his hand at Naruto shooting his body backwards until he was smashed against the mountain side. Sakura wished…wished so hard that she could have forgotten what happened next. Naruto screamed to the heaven's as Madara quite literally drilled the large sword into his body. _

"_When will you learn Naruto, you're too weak!" _

"_STOP IT!" _

_Sakura's screams went on unheard as Madara continued to violate Naruto's body with his blade. Naruto roared in agony as he flailed his arms in a desperate attempt to knock Madara away. _

_Sai flew into action creating one of his beast paintings that lunged at Madara. Madara only shot the beast a deadly glare with his Sharingan before the painting exploded into nothing but ink. But the painting had done its job. It had given Naruto enough time to incite a counter attack. _

_He opened his jaw launching a concentrated chakra ball that shot Madara to the forest below. Naruto quickly healed his wounds and joined Madara at the bottom. _

_But before Madara flew to the bottom, he screamed "I left you two with a present!" _

_0~0~0_

How could this happen?

Team 7 was out on a routine escort mission to the Sand Village. No one could have expected something like…_this_.

Madara's last few words before he faded into the darkness scared him. 'I left you two with a present'. What did he mean by that? A near endless number of questions ran through his head, raising more as they came along.

Looking back between Sakura and her fallen teacher, Sai got up and walked to the mountain edge.

"I'll be right back. Be careful and protect yourself. I'm going to look for Naruto." He spoke curtly before he jumped into the dark abyss that was the forest.

That's _just_ what she wanted; to be left alone. It was for the best anyway. If she went along, she'd be even more of a nuisance than she was currently.

Sakura knew she was useless when compared to Naruto or Kakashi because of their amazing abilities and strength but now…because of that uselessness she had her teacher killed. What were those 3 years of training for…? She hadn't grown. She hadn't changed. She was still the same.

"Sakura…"

_That voice…It couldn't be. _

"Sasuke…?"

"Yeah, it's me." Sasuke grinned devilishly as he crawled out of the darkness. "I see you've grown Sakura…"

He slowly trotted to her, taking his time to violate her with his dark gaze. Sakura wanted nothing more than to…run. He seemed so much more dangerous than when she last saw him.

"Sasuke…why? Why are you doing all of this?"

"I'm nothing more than an Avenger. You of all people should know this…"

"You could have been so much more! It's still not too late!"

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke chuckled darkly, "Look at the _corpse_ next to you. Look me in the eye and say that again."

Sakura bit her lower lip as she cast her gaze downwards. It was true. He had fallen; fallen further into the darkness. She didn't want to believe it. She always wanted to believe there was a light of hope and with that she could have brought him back into the light…but the Sasuke she knew…was long gone.

"Come on it's about time," Sasuke grinned stretching his hand out towards Sakura.

"Time for what?"

"For your funeral," His voice began to send shivers up and down her spine. Sakura looked up to him noticing that she couldn't clearly see his face. Danger practically poured out of his body. She had to get out of there ASAP.

Sasuke suddenly lunged for Sakura but before he could get closer a beast painting emerged from the ground blocking his path. Sasuke' eyes moved to where Sai who had just landed on the mountain path.

"Sakura get away from him!" Sai shouted as he created a group of paintings shooting them all at Sasuke who simply jumped back avoiding them with ease. He notched his head to the side as he stretched his fingers out shooting strings of lightning that destroyed the paintings with ease. Sakura used that moment to jump next to Sai.

"What's this?" Sasuke chuckled "…you dare raise your hand against an Uchiha?"

Sakura gasped when she finally had a clear look at Sasuke' face. His skin was cracked and corroding. And his eyes…his Sharingan had taken a new form. His new Mangekyō took the shape of his old Mangekyō Sharingan, with an altered version of Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan design in the centre. His left eye appears to have the inner Mangekyō design flipped upside down.

"I don't care who you are but you are not going to hurt my friends anymore."

"Sasuke…what's…wrong with you?" Sakura asked confusion and shock plastered her face.

"Oh, nothing too bad" Sasuke's smile resembled a devil's grin "I've just been…reborn."

"Sakura don't listen to him! Whoever or whatever Sasuke was to you…that person is gone now!" Sai barked as he summoned multiple beasts by his side.

Sasuke's head was downcast and his body exploded with demonic energy. When he looked up, Sai and Sakura instantly cringed for Sasuke' skin was pale with black vain popping all over his body. With a beastly roar he charged for the two, the ground beneath him cracked under the pressure of his power.

"This isn't good; we need to get out of here. Now!"

"Running won't help you!" Sasuke's cheek fell to a scowl before he faded into the darkness.

"Shit! Where did he-"

"Here!" Sasuke appeared in front of Sai launching the handle of his sword into his stomach. Before he had time to gasp for air, Sasuke used the opportunity to shove his sword through Sai's torso. Much to Sai's surprise, Sasuke crushed his throat with his hands and ripped out of his sword, throwing him into dark forest below. Sakura stood there mortified at what Sasuke had become.

He turned his head and gave Sakura a wicked smile before he appeared in her face.

"It's a shame that I have to dirty such a pretty face," Sasuke held Sakura' chin in his hand.

"Sasuke please! I know you're in there! Please, I don't want to fight you…I don't want to hurt you…" Sakura held her fists up but she was shaking uncontrollably. The aura Sasuke was emitting was like nothing she had ever felt before. It was dark, sinister and absolutely evil.

Sasuke stared at her with an impassive face, ignoring her pleas bringing his sword down with great force. Sakura held her hands up closed her eyes and expected the worse. Seconds passed and the attack she had been waiting for didn't come.

When her eyes opened, she couldn't believe what she saw. A boy had pinned Sasuke against the wall. It wasn't the first time that boy had appeared when she needed him. It was like he was her guardian angel.

Naruto (no longer in his fox form) slammed Sasuke against the wall and delivered an onslaught of fists to his face, abdomen and upper torso. Sasuke countered Naruto's last punch with one of his own, grabbing him by the head and slamming him into the ground. Sasuke immediately picked him up, spun around and threw Naruto over the forest. Naruto recovered in the air only to be tackled by Sasuke and with that the two fell into the forest below.

Sakura panicked. She didn't know what to do anymore. Kakashi wasn't going to stop their fighting this time and Sai wasn't going to bail her out anymore. And with that, she steeled her will and climbed down the mountain side as fast she could.

When she got to the bottom the forest had seen better days. They were uprooted, shredded to bits, burned or broken in half_. _Sakura ran through what remained of the forest at a break neck pace for what seemed like hours, following a path of destruction that the two left.

Sakura's journey through the forest would come to an end as she neared a large circular crater. At the bottom, she could make out the 3 figures. She could see two furious forces battling it out ripping the forest apart as they went, Sasuke and Naruto. Madara was faced down on the floor; dead.

In a split second, she noticed that the blonde boy, though battered and beaten, had a spiraling sphere of blue chakra in his hands that whipped and whirled the air around him.

Sasuke who was covered in blood stood on the opposite end of the crater. He raised his arm which crackled with white lightning into the air, followed by the sound of what she thought were hundreds of birds.

Time slowed down as Sakura viewed the scene. She hadn't stopped running. No matter how much she tried she didn't seem to be getting closer to the boys. No matter how much she screamed to stop, no matter how much she begged they couldn't hear her.

To the boys; there was nothing to talk about. No more convincing. No more reasoning. No more games. It was all or nothing. _Kill or be killed._

With lightning fast speed, they appeared in front of each other. Sakura could barely hear it, but she just heard the boys mutter under their breath.

_Rasengan. _

_Chidori. _

When the two attacks made impact, she felt like herentire being (Soul and body) was being was crushed. The very air began to turn and bend at the combined attacks will. She resisted the intense force, pushing back until she was flown back.

Within seconds, the blinding flash of light had dissipated and it was over.

Their broken bodies laid lifeless on the floor.

_Pain._

_Hurt. _

_Sorrow._

"No…" She muttered softly.

Sakura ran swiftly, barreling through the crumbling rocks and debris that spread across the ground, diving in recklessly through the smoke ignoring the danger that Sasuke might still be alive. But she didn't care; she had to make sure Naruto was alive. He was too wounded to even carry out an attack like that.

Sakura cringed as horror spread through her body, when she found his body and sped up her dash. When she got to him, she noticed that there was a small puddle that smelled faintly of metal.

"Naruto! Wake up! Wake up!"

For a moment his eyes opened, showing off his all too famous goofy smile. A small smile crawled up her tear soaked cheeks. He was alive.

He began to mouth out some words. Sakura assumed that he didn't have the strength to talk so he tried to send her a message. She watched his lips closely and began to translate.

"I...I…a…am…so…rry…I'm sorry?" Sakura's eyes widened, as she felt part of her mind shatter. Naruto's dulled eyes slowly closed, as his body began to rapidly lose heat. It was a similar thing she experienced when Kakashi died.

"No! No! You can't die! You just can't! Naruto wake up! Naruto! NARUTOOOOOO!"

"Don't cry…" She heard a voice from behind.

"You'll be joining him soon enough." _Sasuke…?_

And with that…everything turned black.

* * *

><p>"Sakura wake up!"<p>

At that moment, Sakura felt like had been awakened from a deep slumber. The numbness from her body was gone and she felt a familiar warmth. Her eyes flashed open and a bright translucent yellow entered her vision. _Naruto?_

"Ahh!" Her head began to pound, but in an instant it stopped completely.

Sakura couldn't believe her eyes. She had run cycles of the scene through her head but it all came back to her making less sense than the first time but that didn't matter. All that mattered was that Naruto was in front of her. Streams of tears fell from her eyes as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Naruto! Naruto!"

"Sakura it's okay," Naruto cooed as he gently brushed her hair "It wasn't real. None of it was."

"What happened to her?" She heard Sai's voice from the corner of the room.

"That was my fault." A tall figure in a large coat appeared. He had a tough demeanor and took Sakura a while but she noticed all the scars that were all over his face. _Ibiki-san?_

"My Genjutsu went a little out of hand. But that wasn't my fault as much as it was hers. After a few seconds of being under my control, she let her subconscious fall prey to my technique."

"What you mean to say is that she weakened her mental defenses to the point where everything became real to her?" It relaxed her heart to hear Kakashi-sensei's voice again but what on earth was going on?

"What happened to me?"

"Don't you remember? It was a Genjutsu exercise." Naruto answered.

"An exercise that when very poorly." Her Shisho was present as well. "It was a simple exercise to prove that team 7 was ready or not for a surprise encounter from Madara."

Tsunade sighed angrily, "I hope this exercise has shown you all the errors of your ways. From the reports from Ibiki, I can tell that all of you failed this test miserably."

She looked over to Sakura who had seen better days, "For all your sakes, I hope that your future training will provide you with the strength you need for all the _obstacles_ you will face."

"Naruto your training will-"

"I know." He replied instantly, making it seem harsher than he intended. "I know what I have to do."

"As long as you understand."

And without another word she left.

0~0~0

The cool night air whipped by as a lone girl sat on the Hokage statue heads. It had been a week since the exercise had ended and Sakura felt no better.

She avoided talking to anyone and everyone including Naruto. She didn't believe she deserved to be with everyone else, especially after she let them die. She knew it wasn't real, but she believed that she let everyone down.

It was already midnight; hours after the time she usually got home and Sakura didn't move. She hugged her knees and wished that she had never agreed to that maddening exercise.

"Sakura." A golden voice echoed with worry.

It was only a matter of time before he found her here. It wasn't the first time he tried to talk to her, but once he realized that she wanted to be alone he'd leave.

Despite her cold attitude towards him, she wanted nothing more in the world than to talk to him. She wanted to hold him; to know that he was there. But he was also the last person she wanted to see. One look at his face and she would have been thrown back into the scene of his death. She couldn't handle that.

Naruto quietly sat next to her, looking out over the village. Even at this time of night, many of the lights illuminated the windows of the village houses.

"I heard about what you saw from Ibiki," He paused looking over for any change in Sakura's expression. "Sakura, I-"

"I don't want to talk about it."

His shoulders sagged. This wasn't working. How was he supposed to cheer her up after something like that? Maybe he should have left her alone like Tsunade told him.

No…he couldn't let her feel like this forever. But Naruto had honestly no idea what he was doing. He would have to wing it.

"Sakura!"

Sakura felt a warm sensation coiling around her neck, before she was pulled onto an even warmer surface. Naruto knelt down to hug her from behind.

Naruto strengthened his grip on her. He felt angry. No, angry wasn't strong enough of a word. He felt so much frustration at that moment that he felt like he would transform if he didn't calm down. If he had been wiser with his words and approach, Sakura would have been feeling better by now. She would have been smiling.

He forcefully shut his eyes and held back from taking out his frustration out on Sakura by squeezing the life out of her. Naruto felt his arms becoming moist. It was no surprise to him that his arms were being soaked with her silent tears. Naruto lost every bit of anger that was in his body at that moment.

He relaxed his body as he kneeled in front of her brushing her short pink hair aside until he could see her forehead. From there he slowly brought his lips to her forehead whispering "It's going to be okay."

Sakura had always been scared of losing Naruto, and now that she had a first hands experience of it ; she was mortified. The scenes from her Genjutsu were so vivid; so _real_. For the past week her mind was a hot mess. It was an exercise to train her responses to a lose-lose situation and it made her realize how much of a failure she was .

"Sakura I can't imagine what you must be feeling right now, but I want you to know that I'm right here!"

Sakura notched her head upwards, staring straight into his eyes. Naruto returned her inquistive gaze with an affirmed phrase. "I'm not going anywhere."

"…how do you expect me to believe that? You know what happened…what could happen. You said so yourself."

"You say that like I've already dug my own grave. I know what I said to Sasuke, and I still mean that. But I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"No matter what kind of road comes ahead I would give it my all to stay with you, to make you happy." He replied without hesitation and full of confidence.

"Nothing is set in stone! I don't know what will happen in the future but there's no point in worrying about it right now. Don't treat me like I'm already gone, I'm right here." He held her hand firmly.

"…I see." Sakura didn't look into his eyes; she kept staring at the floor. Even looking at her, Naruto couldn't tell what she was thinking about. He knew from her words only that something was still worrying her.

"Thank you, Naruto."

She raised her head slightly, giving him a light peck on the lips. "Don't disappear from me. Please."

"I'll try."

She smiled, in what felt like a lifetime. She felt better, that much was true but the possibility that Naruto was never going to come back would always be there; haunting her for the rest of her days. No matter what anyone said, that single thought was never going to disappear.

But he was right about something. Rather than dwell on the thought, she should enjoy the fact that Naruto was alive and well within her reach. It was all she could do at the moment. She would try...at least for him.

He may have been a hyperactive goof ball, but he knew just what to say to make her feel better. His words were a small step towards recovery, but it a step regardless.

"Wait," Naruto rubbed his chin "I figured out something that will turn you back to your normal self."

"Huh?"

"Just watch." Naruto grinned.

_Sexy no jutsu. _

Naruto transformed into a girl (?) that wore nothing more than a one piece dress that more than clearly showed off her cleavage. Sakura raised an eyebrow to his questionable actions.

"Hey there Hun, you here to have a bowl of ramen?" Naruto seductively brought her (?) hand to her lips while blushing, "Or…are you here to have…me?"

Without any hesitation Sakura lodged her fist into her cheeks, leaving her a bloody mess on the stone cold floor.

"_That was the single most disgusting thing I have ever seen."_

Sakura was amazed at how fast Naruto recovered from that blow, immediately placing her hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Oh my my my, Sakura are you that jealous that I'll be attracting most of the boys attention?"

"No, I am disturbed that a guy can play a _whore_ so well."

"Exactly! It is because I am a guy that I know how to act out another guy's deepest darkest fantasy!" Naruto gave a haughty laugh.

"And since I am a guy, I can easily say things that a self-righteous woman could never say!" He flashed an eye to Sakura.

"Can you do that?" He began poking her. "Well, can ya? Can ya? Can ya?"

"…no."

Naruto gave another haughty laugh, while flipping her hair. "Just watch closely sweetheart and you might just learn something from me."

"You…" Sakura clenched her hand so hard, she thought it would bleed. Naruto also knew when to say things that weren't needed at the time. Actually, that weren't needed ever.

"Oh Naruto~" Sakura sang.

"Hm?" Naruto turned and her entire body grew pale; as white as a sheet even. "Wait! Sakura, it was just a joke! I was only kidding!"

"Darkest desires, huh?" Sakura gave a closed eye smile, but then her eyes opened into slits "…was that first line what you want _me_ to say?"

"Nooooooo!"

Naruto's cries for help went unheard.

* * *

><p><em> Naruto had no idea what he was going to do or say. So I tried to make the scene as awkward as possible to bring that out as much as possible.<em>


	4. Shed My Skin

_0~0~0_

_Shed My Skin_

_0~0~O_

* * *

><p>The bright city light up the night sky, a lone girl stood upon the highest tower looking down at the leaf village. Her short rose hair danced in the furious winds. Her jade green eyes, ever vigilant scanned the village illuminated by the numerous lights below. She wore an outfit consisting of a basic red top with black gloves, black boots, black shorts, short gray apron skirt, and gray elbow protectors.<p>

It had been in this very village that she become a ninja, made irreplaceable friends, fell in love, grew stronger and had her heart broken all those years ago. This village had been her life. It was an important part of who she was, and she would protect it with her life. But at her current strength, there was only so much that she could do. She needed to grow stronger, much stronger.

Naruto tried telling her that she need not try so hard but she knew that without proper effort nothing could ever be accomplished (at least that's what she told herself). She vowed on the day that Naruto left that she would become stronger, so rather than rely on him, she would be able to bring Sasuke back with her own two hands.

But the promise and determination she had so long ago seemed more like a distant dream. Did she really want Sasuke back in her life? It would definitely make her happy, but there was so much more going on than just how she felt. He was still an S-rank criminal, and regionally wanted for his assassination attempts on the kages.

Besides, bringing him back would only be half the battle. She saw firsthand how far he had fallen to the darkness. If he were ever to return, who's to say that he wouldn't try to destroy her precious village from the inside? She rather not think about it.

Naruto himself said he couldn't do it, but if _there was a chance_ of saving him from himself, they would have to act fast. After all that she told Naruto, she couldn't let the thought of Sasuke being saved go.

Over the years of tough training with Tsunade, her abilities had greatly increased but even with her new found knowledge and skill, she was nowhere close to what was needed to defeat Sasuke. She had not gotten any closer than she was 3 years ago.

That sole thought raged on her mind, and sometimes in her dreams. It was enough to drive her insane.

"I can't believe all this time…" She muttered "Have I accomplished nothing over the years?" She pounded the tower beneath her, cracking the roof. "Oops." She quickly calmed herself and thought of something more pressing than her own personal issues.

"Where are they? We were supposed to meet here 30 minutes ago." _Maybe I got the time wrong? But it did say 8:30 pm on the dot._

It was then that Sakura noticed the lights flashing in the forest passed the outer gates of the village. _It's them_.

Team 7 was assigned to take care of some troublesome bandits on the outskirts of the village but her team just so happened to be late.

"There's no helping it," She got up and pulled on her gloves "I have to do this by myself."

_This shouldn't be too difficult; I can handle one or two thugs_ she thought to herself as she jumped off the tower. Adrenaline poured into her system, the wind rushing against her body, she ran down the building with an unearthly grace. She hopped off the building with ease, and bounced along the roofs until she got to the outer wall. Controlling her movements and speed had become second wind to her; feats like these were as natural to her as breathing. She slid down the wall, momentarily stopping herself for a split second before she kicked off the building flipping gracefully through the air landing elegantly onto the targeted area below.

"What the? Who the heck are you?" One of the gang members cried.

"_Your end." _She replied coldly.

The real _'demons'_, ninja and thugs alike, who had fallen to the darker side of the world. To Sakura they were all the same. Men and women who did what they wanted and brought nothing but hatred and pain to the world. It sickened her.

"Out of the way girlie! This doesn't concern you!" The thug bellowed raising his sword to her face. She didn't reply. She kept her poker face and glared at the thugs with contempt.

"I'm telling you to-"

"Whoa, whoa. No need to be so violent." A man cloak in black lowered the man's sword and walked towards Sakura "No need to show such barbaric behavior to a charming young lady such as this one."

"Take one more step and I'll treat it as an act of aggression." Sakura remarked.

"Please, why don't you join our merry band of men? We'll make sure to take extra good care of you." He grinned.

"I'd rather keep my chastity, thank you."

"Shame," He shook his head "Go nuts."

They did as she planned as they all rushed her, five demons in all. In their flurry to attack her, she charged at them only to hop onto the closest demon's head. Before it had any time to look up, she had already slammed her leg downwards hitting it to the ground. The next demon jumped the broken remains of its companion in what looked to her like a rushed tackle. She span her body quickly in a 360 degree spin kicking him into the nearest tree.

The next dashed straight for her. She didn't skip a beat; she used the momentum from the spin to slam her right leg on top of the demons head smashing it into the floor beneath. The fourth and fifth demon hesitated greatly before both looked at each other before they both rushed her.

She waited for them with both her eyes closed. In a split second her eyes flashed open, and with expert timing, she closed her fist and jabbed one with all her strength. She quickly spun her body to slam her elbow against the other one. As if her attack was delayed they both flew into the dark reaches of the forest.

In the beginning, Sakura's only defining characteristic was her intelligence, with her consistently high test scores while she was in the Academy. Because of this, Sakura had a keen talent for observation and analyzing. But her skills had developed to the point that she could hold her own against powerful enemies.

With her excellent chakra control, Sakura had turned into an excellent combat medical-nin. Her strength, coupled with her medical expertise and the beauty she gained over the years of intense training, had caused many to see Sakura as a younger version of Tsunade, or even someone who could even surpass Tsunade.

"Impressive for a Kunoichi." The man applauded. "But if you wished to defeat me, you'd need more than just 'impressive' skills. My name is-"

"I don't need to know your name. I'll be ending you now so it won't matter to me."

"Such insolenccccce…" He spoke with a hiss showing his displeasure.

She dashed at the demon, not wanting to hear his voice anymore. She launched herself into the air with a loud battle cry. She landed her fist not on the man, but the cold hard ground that crumbled and broke upon impact. He had vanished within seconds.

Sakura immediately pounded the ground with her foot, lodging a broken pillar of rock into the air slamming her fist into it directed at tree. Almost immediately a shadow lunged out of the large tree onto the ground before the rock made impact.

"I didn't think you'd find me that easily."

He didn't give her time to answer. He pulled out a large sword from his cloak and charged straight for her launching a barrage of attacks from his sword. Sakura nimbly dodged his advance with expert agility and timing. He had the advantage with a weapon but Sakura was not going to lose especially to a monster like that.

She dashed to the side and anticipated his strike. When it came, straight for her heart, she avoided it by a mere inch giving her the chance to deliver a single punch that would win it all. But the man had other plans.

He began a series of hand signs before he grinned widely.

From the ground, a ring of stone pillars emerged around Sakura. Surprised, she tried to rush out of the ring but it was too late. One of the pillars shot across the ring, Sakura immediately pulled her body back to smash it into dust but the man had anticipated that. From every direction, pillars jotted out from beneath the ground all aimed at her. Naturally, she halted her escape to lay a smack down on the pillars before they could reach her body.

"You see, my family is from the Earth Clan. For centuries we have mastered the ways of controlling the earth. I have perfected this technique. I can manipulate the ground freely without any hand signs." He snickered "For I am Kinoji Aburama of the Dark Earth Clam!"

She mentally sighed. She wanted to finish this _before_ he had the chance to gloat.

Blow after blow, Sakura's fist weren't weakening or showing any sign of fatigue but her strength wouldn't be enough. Her lucky was about to run out. As fate would have it, a pillar struck Sakura from the back shooting her forward. Her body lingered in the air for a moment and that's what Aburama counted on.

Just then two other pillars of soft earth emerged wrapping themselves around Sakura smashing her into the ground again and again. Soon enough, two others join in the pounding until all hands had smashed Sakura into the ground.

Feeling victorious, Aburama walked over Sakura, as he retraced his earth hands. Before she did anything else, she checked her body for any severe damages. Indeed she had been hurt, but at the last second before she made contact with the ground she broke out of the earth and pushed her hands against the ground lessening the impact. All she had to do now was wait for him to get close enough and that would be the end of him.

"I don't enjoy satisfying myself with broken women but I guess you'll have to do."

Suddenly, without any warning, the man found a particular glow coming from under him. That's when he noticed a boy appeared between the girl and himself. In a split second, he noticed that the boy had a spiraling sphere of blue chakra aimed against his chest. There was no time to speak, no time to dodge, no time for anything; he just heard the boy mutter under his breath in a slow cold voice.

_Rasengan. _

When the sphere made impact, Aburama felt like his entire being (Soul and body) was being pulled along with the spiral as it pressed against his flesh. The very air behind him began to turn and bend at the balls will. Within seconds he was launched into the forest at an incredible speed.

"Sakura, what have we told you about fighting on your own." The blonde haired boy kneeled beside her inspected her wounds. "We're a team for a reason." His voice ached with worry.

"I'll be fine, Naruto."

"Rather than worry about Sakura, we have more pressing matters." Sai spoke in his ever present unemotional tone. Naruto's eyes trailed off to the man who calmly walked out of the forest.

"Never in my wildest imaginations did I ever dream to fight the Hero of Konoha, Naruto Uzumaki." A crooked smile crawled up his cheek "Oh Lucky day."

Naruto didn't bother to respond. "Sai hold him off for a minute. I need to get Sakura out of here-" Just then, Sakura brought her hand in front of Naruto's face cutting him off, "Sakura?"

"This is my fight Naruto. Stay back."

"What are you saying? He's obviously too powerful for you!"

"That's never stopped me before."

"Sakura-!"

"No Naruto!" She gritted her teeth roughly whipping her face to Naruto "I'm tired of you saving me whenever I get myself into trouble."

"I don't want to see you get hurt!"

"Then look away because my mind is made up!

"I'm not letting you do this!" Naruto walked in front of her and stretched his arms outwards "You're pushing yourself again!"

"How can you expect me to grow up and become stronger if you keep babying me at the hint of danger?"

"I…Kakashi-sensei, Baa-chan and Captain Yamato can make you stronger if you ask them!"

"It's not the same Naruto and you know that-!"

It took some time but Sakura finally noticed that Naruto's shoulders were shaking. Was he afraid? Afraid of losing her? It made her realize that she was going about this the wrong way. Sakura forcibly swallowed her anger and casually walked up to Naruto.

Naruto looked into her eyes, and she looked into his. It felt like he was peering in a mirror for Sakura wore a battle face filled with nothing but determination and strong will. He wondered if his actions over the years had influenced her. The answer was probably yes.

"Please."

He sighed and let his arms down, "Thank you Naruto."

"Don't lose." He said curtly as he stepped aside.

She smiled shortly before she turned to face Aburama with a glare. She took her usual stance but Naruto saw something different about it. Something was off; her stance was slightly different it was more defensive.

"Ah, teenage love. It is filled with nothing but drama, regret and pain," Aburama sighed "In the end it isn't worth it."

Not wanting to hear anymore, Sakura harshly smashed her fist downwards creating a shock wave that split the ground with ease, _Cherry Blossom Clash:_ _Earth Divide_. Aburama was blasted away but he regained his footing and stabbed the ground below with his sword to slow himself down.

"Play time is over." Sakura pulled on her gloves.

"I couldn't say it better myself."

_Secret technique: Kekkei Genkai_

Suddenly, his eyes glowed white for an instant before he smacked his hand against the ground.

She rushed forward ready for any earth attack he could throw at her but what happened next shocked her to no end. Rather than large pillars of earth, solid stone gathered on his arms forming into oversized gauntlets. Without second thought, he threw an endless barrage of punches at her.

Using her own monstrous strength, she smashed her fists on the gauntlets destroying them immediately but whenever she destroyed one, two quickly replaced it. Soon she was faced with a couple dozen stone fists. It was like fighting Naruto's clones all over again.

That was when disaster stroke…

The stone arms attempted to take her down by stretched over to her blind side but she was quick enough to read to the fist and destroy it. But because of that, she took her eyes of Aburama for only a split second and that was all he needed. Sakura felt herself float shortly before she was rammed with a rather large solid object.

Aburama launched her into the air with a stone pillar and pounded her with the stone fists that had gathered into one.

Sakura violently coughed up blood violently as she flew through the air, making a rather rough landing as she bounced along the floor. She couldn't hear anything (_The blood the trickled out of her ear wasn't helping)_. Sakura lost all feeling in her face, back, chest, abdomen and pelvis. Her entire body grew numb as time passed. To make matters worse she was fading in and out of consciousness. That wasn't good.

"_SAKURA!"_ Naruto cried out "_SAKURA!_"

Naruto's rage had now blown over, the fox's chakra was already leaking out of his body. What Sakura saw surprised her, the fox's energy swallowed him and coated him but he didn't act. He was resisting it for her sake. She couldn't let him do that in vain.

"I'm fine!" Sakura struggled to get to up on her broken (?) legs. She was too dizzy to make a full body analysis, but she could see that her skin was covered in bruises and blood. Her left arm was definitely broken and her right was fractured to an extent. Regardless of her injuries, she still had a fight to win.

"On the verge of death and you still want to fight me? You've got guts, I'll give you that." Aburama grinned.

She looked over to Naruto who looked so infuriated that he might have exploded at any moment. Bits and pieces of his flesh were beginning to disintegrate under the fox's chakra. He was moments away from transforming. She shot him a gaze which read 'I'll be fine' and continued to advance towards Aburama.

She ignored her broken body and broke into a sprint towards Aburama, knowing full well she wouldn't win. Her wounds were too deep and her body simply wouldn't hold out, but she would not give up. Naruto fought the most deadly of villains in this state. The words 'give up' never once crossing his mind.

She had to be stronger. She had to become someone that could protect others. She wouldn't stay the girl who sat on the sidelines forever. She had to become powerful enough to be useful on missions. She had to become powerful so that Naruto wouldn't have to carry the burden that she placed on him.

Losing either Naruto or Sasuke would be too much for her. The Genjutsu was a nightmare but it opened her eyes to the truth. She wanted to save them both, but if thinks took a turn for the worse, she wanted to be strong enough to handle it.

She felt useless and weak for far too long. This was her last chance to prove her worth. _Haruno Sakura would not be a hindrance anymore!_

Just as she was on her last spurt of life her body shined a bright translucent white, before it exploded into dense pink chakra. As she ran, her Chakra became thinner reinforcing her broken body until it became a thin pink line surrounding her body.

"What is this?" Aburama asked. _Where is she getting this energy?_

He grinned; _No matter she is going to die anyway_. Two of fists stuck themselves in the ground, creating a sea of stone pillars that jotted out aimed at the dying Kunoichi.

Sakura felt like a spectator to her own actions. She felt like someone else had taken control of her body. Though Aburama shot a barrage of stone pillars at her, her body felt as light as a feather and bounced off them with lightning quick reflexes.

Naruto's transformation halted for a moment, as he gazed with awe at what was happening to Sakura. Symbols, strange letters appeared on Sakura's skin. They were similar to Baa-chan's rebirth jutsu that healed all her wounds.

Aburama gritted his teeth and used his stone fists to smash her into dust. Sakura felt like time had slowed down, the stone fists were easier to read which made it easier for her to dodge them all.

"What?" Aburama was astonished. Much like the boy before, she had appeared in his face with a radiant pink chakra glowing near his abdomen. Within seconds he was launched into the air at an incredible speed when her glowing fist connected with his chin.

"It's not over!"

With lightning fast speed, she appeared a few meters above his body. The chakra that covered her arm grew to a size similar to that of his collective stone fist.

_Cherry Blossom Clash: Heaven's Fist. _

She thrust downwards with enough force to bring the demon crashing back down creating a bright eruption of energy that destroyed the very ground beneath. Sakura bathed in the light of the attack before she dashed out of it. When the light dissipated, surprise filled her face when Aburama's broken body lay on the floor seemingly lifeless. Within seconds, her body finally seemed to fail her and she fell unconscious. While she fell backwards, she was embraced by familiar warm arms.

When Sakura regained consciousness, she found herself resting against Naruto's back as he dashed from roof to roof. "Naruto?"

"You were amazing Sakura," Naruto smiled "You stuck to it and you didn't give up. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks," She said drowsily.

"Do me a favor and never do anything that reckless again," She wasn't sure that she could keep that promise.

"Now you know…how I feel…when you go running off…" Her body was still weak.

"I guess I do." _Well at least he doesn't sound mad_.

Naruto had found so many things strange with what happened in that fight. For one, Sakura' wounds were already healing without the effects of the vials and syringes Sakura had in her bag. Maybe it was the new technique she used?

Sakura was always capable of increasing her speed by placing chakra at the soles of her feet, and she applied the same theory for the chakra body armor. Her Heaven's Fist was obviously a copied version of Aburama's stone fist.

The bottom line was..._Sakura was definitely getting stronger._

"Oh and before I forget…" Sakura said "My thank you for not interfering,"

"You don't-" Before Naruto could finish he felt something soft press against his cheek. Naruto blushed as Sakura hugged him tightly around his neck.

"I shouldn't interfere more often." He chuckled.

"We both know you will."

"Definitely."

She lightly bonked him on the head."Hey after what I saw you're lucky I'm not shouting at you. You should be punished for being so reckless or something."

"You can punish me later," she cuddled up to his back before she slowly fell asleep "If it's you…I…don't…mind." Naruto blushed furiously as he thought about what she said.

_What the hell did she mean?_

* * *

><p><em><em>AN: Ah personal grow. Nothing like it. Anyway, the beginning of the fight may seem familiar because it is an extract from another story I wrote. I found it more fitting to be in this story, so I removed the other because I knew I wouldn't continue it. _ _

_So, anyone curious to know what Sakura meant?~  
><em>


	5. Family Matters

_A/N: I know that this isn't exactly Angsty like the first few chapters but I wanted to show that though their relationship is still terribly rocky and unstable, there is still something good happening._

* * *

><p><em>0~o~0<br>_

_Family Matters_

_0~o~0  
><em>

* * *

><p>"<em>Naruto, it's morning." <em>

"_Don't oversleep, Naruto." _

"_Geez, you're not going to wake up are you?" _

"_This is your fault for not waking up." _

Suddenly, Naruto felt like he couldn't breathe. Naruto's eyes shot open, his breathing ragged. He couldn't help but pant as he scanned his surroundings.

For starters, he noticed that Sakura was right in front of him wearing nothing but his long shirt. She gave the impression that she had done something amazing but bad by the way she fidgeted and squirmed. She was also blushing rather hard behind that dainty smile of hers.

"Good morning, Naruto."

"Good morning…"

_What the-? That was weird. I couldn't breathe but I felt amazing for a minute there._ For one reason or another, Naruto noticed that the faint taste of cherry covered his lips.

"So, how was waking up?" Sakura asked, as she kept her finger on her lips.

"…not bad at all."

"I see…" She seemed a little displeased.

"Did you do anything weird?"

"No…nothing special." She looked away, fixing her hair behind her ears. "Anyway, get up already. Breakfast is waiting." Sakura's face brightened up with a smile. Naruto was surprised.

Who'd have ever thought that Sakura would wake up early and make breakfast for him? It was like a dream come true. Usually she'd tell Naruto off, calling him lazy or saying that he should make his own breakfast. She did, however, bring him lunch and snacks whenever he was in the hospital - a strange girl indeed.

Maybe this was a thank you for visiting her everyday at the hospital after that Aburama incident. Miraculously it only took her a few days to heal. It was probably her new skill that accelerated the healing process. But anyway, she was out of the hospital and seemed happier than she did in months.

Naruto sat up with a large yawn as he laid eyes on the clock…

"Wait! Isn't this way too early to be getting up?"

If Naruto had breakfast now, it'd still be hours before it hit noon.

"Oh quit whining. Come on, get up!"

"But I'm missing valuable sleeping time! Plus we went to bed, uh, pretty late last night. I'm pretty exhausted from all that."

"Ah! Wh-what are you talking about so early in the morning?" Sakura's face instantly turned bright red. Seeing Sakura like that made Naruto recall all the previous night's events and soon he started blushing himself.

"Don't you dare think about anything weird!"

_Too late._

Sakura kept hitting Naruto on the head while looking really embarrassed; each blow weaker than previous one. But the moment her emerald green eyes caught hold of his bright cerulean orbs, Sakura couldn't bring herself to look away.

With dewy eyes, she brought her face closer to his wrapping her arms around his neck. Sakura quickly closed the remaining distance with a small peck on his lips.

"…surprise attack, huh?" He grinned.

"Ah, no, it…it's just a good morning kiss. I woke you up with that earlier, right?"

"Yeah, I wonder if I'm going to wake up like that from now on."

"A-anyway, breakfast is ready in the kitchen! Hurry up and wash your face!" Having said that, Sakura turned around shyly and left the room. He could her light footsteps as she ran down the small hall of Naruto's apartment.

"….she's just too cute."

_~0~0~0~_

Naruto sat on the kitchen table mindlessly eating the hardy breakfast that Sakura had made for him. After that little scene in his room he didn't think he'd be able to tear his eyes away from her even for a second.

"So what plans do you have today Naruto?" She asked while she busied herself with washing the dishes.

"Nothing for today."

"I thought you were only kidding about not training this week."

"Nope but I do have training with Iruka and some mystery trainer in a few month's time though. Kakashi-sensei said something about how I should rest up before the 'toughest training of my life'."

"Like any of your training sessions are a walk in the park…" Saskura sighed "But why a few month's time? I thought after the attack on the Kages they would prepare their forces and fortify their defenses for the war."

"Baa-chan said there were preparations and a bunch of meetings that needed to take place before any of that." Naruto grinned "Oh well, more time for me."

"Can't you be a little more worried that a war is coming?"

"I ehm wuthrid."

Sakura notched her head to the back to find that Naruto stuffed himself with the blueberry pancakes she had made. His mouth was so full that he couldn't speak properly. She translated his nonsense as 'I am worried'. She shook her head before she returned to the dishes.

It took all his will not to look depressed or troubled in front of her. _I wondered if it even worked_, he thought. Kakashi had been very stern and very grave with him. Naruto's training had always had a catch. Whether it be dying from exhaustion or turning into a frog. But Kakashi told him that if he messed up by the slightest amount, not only would he die but there may have been a chance of the fox completely taking control of his body. That's what truly scared him.

_**You should be scared, foolish boy. **_

_Quiet you. _

This is why Naruto decided to spend as much time as he could have with the ones who literally meant the world to him; his friends, his family and the one he loved.

"So what plans do you have for the day?"

"Well after you're done eating, I have to go back home and check in with my parents."

"Check in with them?"

"I think any parent would be worried about their daughter being gone for a few days."

"Oh yeah. I feel like I horded you for myself. Sorry."

"Don't worry, my dad will understand just fine," Sakura paused with a grim expression "My mom on the other hand…"

"Yeah…" Naruto shrank in his chair.

"After what happened I don't think she'd be too happy to see you."

Naruto rather forget.

* * *

><p><em>"Sakura! It's time to get up!" <em>

"_Ugh, five more minutes mom…" Sakura automatically responded, still half-asleep._

"_No way young lady, you get up right this instant." Her mother commanded. Since Sakura didn't respond, she went ahead with opening the door. When she entered, the basket of clothing she held in her hands fell to the floor._

"_Hahaha, hi there." Naruto nervously laughed. "I know what this looks like, and it is, but I want you to stay calm and listen-"_

"_**Sakura Haruno!"**_

And here we go…

"_What?" Sakura practically shot up from the bed._

"_**What is the meaning of this?" **_

"_What are you shouting abo-" Sakura laid her eyes on the blonde next to her "Oh my god, Mom I can explain!" _

"_**Both of you out of that bed this instant!" **_

_Naruto hopped out of the bed and Sakura followed suit._

"_Wah!" Sakura's mother instantly flushed, taking a few steps back. _

"_Huh?" Sakura raised an eyebrow at her mother's questionable expression. It was only then did she follow her mother's gaze and felt equally as embarrassed. "Naruto! Cover up your shame!" _

"_What?" Naruto followed both their gazes and found himself staring at his crotch._

"_Oh, this happens every morning. I can't control it no matter what I do." He explained as a matter-o-fact._

"_That's not the point!" _

"_Oh my…" Sakura's mother covered her face with her hands, tipping back and forth until she crashed into the bedroom wall. _

"_Oba-san? Are you ok?" Naruto rushed over to the woman._

"_Naruto put your pants on first!" Sakura ordered._

"_Oh, right." _

_Sakura couldn't blame her mother for reacting the way she did. Even Sakura was surprised when she first saw it. Throughout the entire day, she wondered how something that humongous managed to _fit her_. But that was a worry for another time. Things felt like they were about to take a turn for the worse for Sakura, especially when a tall bespectacled dark haired man entered the hallway._

"_G-good morning…daddy."_

"_Good morning, Sakura." _

_Things couldn't possibly be more awkward than they already were. _

"_Sanae? Are you okay?" He knelt down besides his wife, who looked like she had seen a ghost. _

"_I'm fine, Akio. I'm just a little weak at the moment." _

"_I can see why," He said tilting his glasses as he eyed the couple awkwardly trying to get their clothes on. After Naruto was done, he stared at Naruto for at least five minutes before he gently lifted Sanae off the floor. _

_With no more than a bow and a courteous 'sorry for disturbing you' he made his way out closing the door behind him. For a split second, Naruto felt so much killing intent that it left him temporarily immobilized. Fear that if he even moved an inch Sakura's mother would have had his head. _

* * *

><p>"I don't know why but I think your dad is a hundred times scarier than your mom." Naruto sighed.<p>

Sakura's father was completely calm knowing that Naruto deflowered his daughter. Like a man who knew nothing but implosive anger all his life; that only meant that he could blow at any minute. Naruto couldn't help but imagine that instant death loomed over his shoulders at every corner. Ever since that day he forced himself to never drop his guard even for a second.

"My dad isn't scary at all. But I didn't think he'd react the way he did though."

"What happened after I left anyway?" Finally finishing his pancakes, he took a sip of his freshly brewed coffee. It was horribly bitter.

"You know, it was weird." Sakura turned to face him with an astonished expression "I honestly expected my parents to give me an earful after all that but there was…nothing. My mom was depressed for a day then bounced back like nothing ever happened. My dad was the same as always but he did say he wanted to talk to you but that was it."

"Define 'talk'." Naruto remarked raising his eyebrow.

"Don't worry, he won't hurt you."

"…didn't you say he and your mom were in ANBU?"

"Yeah, so?"

"I'm going to get killed, dattebayo…" Naruto's head dropped down onto the table.

"Yeah, maybe."

No measurement of speed could describe how quickly Naruto's head shot up to look at her. Beads of sweat were already beginning to drip down his face.

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding!"

Naruto gave a huge sigh of relief and sank back in his seat.

"Come on, my parents aren't that scary."

After eating his breakfast, Naruto lifted his plates and began to carry it to the sink. He placed his plate and fork in the sink but before he could run the water, he felt two slender arms wrap around his stomach as Sakura pressed herself against his back.

"Sorry for scaring you but you may be thinking a bit too much," she said.

"Are you sure?" he asked with a smile. "Your mom looked like she wanted to castrate me."

"Since you have nothing to do why not come with me?"

"You're…not even going to deny the castrating thing…?" She looked away whistling a small tune to herself.

He turned her head to face him "I'm not running the risk of meeting up with your mom."

"My mom has a doctor's appointment in the morning. She won't be home and it gives you the chance to talk with my dad without her around."

Looking down at her puppy eyes, Naruto was forced to turn away. How could he say no to a face like that?

"You sure she isn't home?" She nodded.

"Fine."

_~0~0~0~_

"Well, we're here."

"On second thought how about I head home? I mean, you could always tell me what your dad has to say to me anyway." Naruto turned away with no intention of looking back, but delicate yet horrifyingly strong hands locked down on his shoulder.

"Stop being such a worry wart and follow me." Sakura dropped his shoulder and entered her house "Dad! I'm home!"

"This is such a drag…" Naruto sighed heavily. _Great, now I sound like Shikamaru. That guy is rubbing off way too much on me._

Out of the blue, a cherry-blossom shade of pink entered his vision andhis dreams of having a near non-eventful day were dashed in the blink of an eye. At first, he hoped it was Sakura who had somehow gotten outside but from the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of Sakura walking up a flight of stairs.

This lead Naruto to one conclusion. The woman who practically materialized in front of him was not Sakura, but indeed her mother, Sanae Haruno.

Naruto gave a little smile "It's nice to see you again, Mrs. Haruno."

"You…" She shot him an undesirable glare that unnerved him to the core.

_She really doesn't like me, does she? _

_**What was your first clue?**_

_Quiet. _

"You've come to lay your hands on my daughter again?"

"No wait!" Naruto held his hands up defensively, "Just let me explain why I'm here!"

"Hm?"

"Well, I came here to apologize and explain what happened that night! I just had to tell her something important but things got out of hand and one thing lead to another and the next thing I knew we were in bed and uh…" Naruto babbling came to a grinding halt when he realized what he was making things worse.

"…you _want_ me to kill you, don't you?" In the corner of his eye, he noticed a small vein on her forehead.

Naruto instinctively rose his arms up in defense "Look, I don't want to cause any trouble. I just came here for you and your husband's blessings."

"Here, you can have it!"

Naruto found himself in a strange predicament. He was in mid-air. The salmon-haired woman just knocked him into the air with her foot.

Naruto cradled his legs and spun backwards until he was upright when he landed safe and sound. That was until the woman launched a roundhouse kick aimed for his face. He countered by grabbing her leg and flipping her over but she had other plans.

She raised her grounded leg and made a sweep for Naruto's head. He immediately let go of her leg and rested his body flat against the ground. He was close enough to her foot to actually kiss it.

Naruto kept his body low as he swept the floor with his leg forcing Sanae to jump upwards and that's what he wanted.

That was when Sanae noticed that both his legs stopped where her legs where. Naruto thrust both his legs upwards knocking into her stomach shooting her back. Naruto made sure to hold back, he just wanted to create some space.

"I admit you can put up a decent fight, but don't think that I'll ever forgive you for what you did." Sanae sneered.

The woman charged for Naruto, swinging her right foot at Naruto's head. He quickly retaliated by blocking with his left arm, and dashed backwards.

"What's going on here?" The voice of an angel (and Naruto's current savior) called from the door.

"Sakura! Talk some sense into your mom!" Naruto screamed but it was already too late for words. Sanae was already inches from him with needle-like chakra extending out of her hand.

Naruto was so concentrated on Sakura's appearance he turned away from her, but it was only for a split second. She was quick.

"Mom no!"

Inches from his face, Naruto watched the spike-like chakra retract into the woman's hand. It was then that he noticed another figure had pulled up besides Sakura's mother. "That's enough of that Sanae."

Luckily for Naruto, Sakura's father dispersed her chakra by grabbing onto her arm. Otherwise Naruto's only choice of countering may have hurt her.

"But he-!" Sakura's mother wasn't ready to give up yet. She still wanted a piece of Naruto.

"Sanae, we were about their age when we did it as well." He stated like it was the most natural thing in the world, which left Sanae deep red and frantic.

"What are you saying Akio! Not in front of Sakura!"

"Anyway, Naruto-kun I'm deeply sorry about my wife's actions and I hope you won't hold it against us?" Naruto shook his head.

"Excellent. Now before I take my wife away, I'd like to reschedule our 'talk' to now if you don't mind?"

"I don't know…your wife seems to…dislike me."

"Dislike is a sever understatement." She scoffed, turning her head away.

Akio looked down to his wife who practically wanted to claw at Naruto given the chance, "It's true that my wife would like nothing more than to beat you down until you're nothing but a bloody pulp. But truthfully, I think she likes you."

_That doesn't make any sense!  
><em>

"But I can assure you, no harm will befall you," he paused looking to his wife "Probably."

Naruto was at a loss for words. He said the first thing that came to his head, "I see where Sakura gets it…"

"Indeed," he chuckled softly "Now would you mind coming in? I never really enjoyed being the center of attention."

Naruto immediately whipped his head in all direction. Everyone on the street apparently had front row seats to the family drama that just unfolded right in front of them. Unfortunately, he was the star.

Irate and furious, Sakura grabbed Naruto by the ear and forcibly pulled him into the house. Akio on the other hand was laughing his head off at her reaction. That was until Sakura kicked him.

_~0~0~0~_

"I'm going to go to my room to change." Was the first thing Sakura said upon entering the house "I'm so going to wash this embarrassment off with a nice hot shower afterwards."

"I'll finish the laundry," Sanae eyed Naruto before she made her way up the stairs.

When everyone had finally left the living room Akio began the conversation. "I couldn't help but overhear that you came here for our blessings on your new relationship?"

"Yeah?"

"As her father, I give you our full approval. Not that you needed it anyway. As long as this relationship doesn't bother anyone-"

"It bothers me!" Sanae raised her voiced from the top of the stairs.

"As long as it doesn't bother anyone _else_, we don't mind." Akio repeated curtly.

"But what will people think?"

"What do you mean?"

"In all honesty, I'm potentially dangerous to her and people know about this. There are people who hate me and I'm afraid of them hating her as well."

"You're such a worrywart, Naruto-kun."

"Er, you know about me?"

"How many years do you think I've gone through listening to my daughter prattle on about 'Naruto-kun this, Naruto that'."

"Dad!" Sakura screamed. _Apparently, everyone knew what was being said. _

"Anyway, you should concern yourself with Sakura's feelings before you worry about what others think."

"Sakura you want to be with Naruto, right?" Her father asked, looking up the stairs where Sakura had been all this time.

"Wha-? What kind of question is that?" She fumed making her way down the stairs. Her outfit comprised of a lavender and cream sleeveless shirt that more than tightly clung to her body with cream pants and her usual black heeled sandals.

"Well?"

"Of course I want to be with him." She answered meekly. Naruto's face began to gleam. She carefully plopped herself an arm's length next to Naruto, knowing if she got any closer her mother would have another fit.

"Otherwise we wouldn't have…"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence!" Sanae interrupted.

"And Naruto-kun, don't you want to be with Sakura?" Akio completely ignored his wives outburst.

"Well yeah, but…"

"Then what's the problem? You have my full support as Sakura's father." He stretched his arm and roughly patted Naruto's shoulder.

"But…"

"Listen Naruto-kun, Sakura is a smart girl capable of taking care of herself. She would only make a decision like this if she truly thought it would make the both of you happy. And as her father, I trust my daughter's decision as I trust you."

"You trust me…?" Naruto couldn't believe his ears.

"Yep. I trust you to continue protecting my daughter like you always have."

Naruto felt tears coming up. No one had ever told him words like those before. It was a brand new feeling to him. He was having a hard time dealing with the raw emotion he felt at that moment.

"Now, delinquent adolescent who laid his hands on my innocent daughter; it is my turn to judge you!" Sanae took a flamboyant pose at the top of the stairs; the devious smile on her face not faltering once. Sakura slightly taken aback could only shake her head while Akio remained completely impassive.

"I'm _so sorry _about this, Naruto." Sakura whispered.

"But," She continued "Before that you must complete one of my challenges!"

"And what's that?"

"Defeat me in mortal combat!" Sanae lunged off the tip of the stairs making a dive for Naruto.

On her way down, she twirled through the air pulling twin bladed kunai out of her blouse. To protect himself, he had already brought his hands together for his all too famous Shadow Clone Jutsu but was stopped when Akio stood up and motioned for Naruto to remain in his seat.

In one swift movement of his wrist, Akio knocked the kunai away and moved her body mid-air allowing for her to fall into his outstretched arms (Princess/wedding style).

"Come on honey," Akio then lugged Sanae over his shoulder carrying her back up the stairs. "Let's leave the children alone."

Sanae, on the other hand, refused to accept the untimely retreat and desperately struggled to break free from her husband's hold. Unfortunately for her, he didn't plan on letting go.

A blank expression clouded over Naruto's face when he turned to face Sakura, "What…what the hell just happened?"

"My parents happened. That's what."

* * *

><p><em>She really does like him, doesn't she?<br>_


	6. Overnight Celebrity

_0~0~0_

_Overnight Celebrity_

_0~0~0_

* * *

><p>Minutes past sunrise, only a set few in the village were astir including a certain pink haired kunoichi. As much as she'd like to get up and start the day, a certain blonde wrapped his arms tightly around her. She fidgeted, tossed and turned but no matter how much she tried she couldn't escape. It wasn't until the big lug moved his arms that she found her chance to slip away without waking him.<p>

Sighing, she sat at the edge of the bed.

Sakura got up slowly, making sure not to wake the sleeping blonde. She gently caressed his face with a smile before she sat on the edge of the bed. As she left her main source of warmth, Sakura's body began to grow unusually colder. It was only then did she realize that she was completely naked.

Her face lit up like a Christmas decoration as the events from the previous night entered her mind. After their 'session' the two ended up falling asleep like that. Sakura quickly got out of bed, grabbed the bed sheet, cast it over herself and began to fumble around underneath.

"…what are you doing?"

_Figures he'd wake up now. _

"What does it look like? I'm getting dressed."

"I'm asking why you're doing it under a sheet."

"It would be embarrassing if I didn't."

"Why's that?"

"I don't want you to see me naked!"

"It's not like it's the first time I've seen you naked." He spread his fingers and began counting them "Last night, the night before and-"

Sakura couldn't be any redder than she was now. "Okay I get! But that was then and this is now!"

"I don't know about you but I love it when you're naked." A mischievous grin crawled up his cheek.

Sakura poked her head out from the sheet, "Really?"

"Of course."

"But I'm not as shapely as other girls."

"I'm not interested in other girls."

Sakura deliberated for a moment and let the sheet drop to the floor.

"Mmmm…" Naruto hummed.

"What? What is it- Kya!" Sakura shrieked when she felt warm lips caressing her lower back. "What are you doing -ahh- Naruto!"

"I think it's time that we started round 2, don't you?" Naruto grinned wrapping his arms around her waist pulling her back onto the bed.

"Wait Naruto-ahh!"

* * *

><p>Feeling a bit bored, since Naruto was summoned by Kakashi for a short briefing, Sakura took a short stroll down the street. After a few minutes, she noticed Yamanaka family flower store. Seeing as she hadn't seen or talked to the pig in days, she'd make a short stop there.<p>

"Well isn't this a surprise. I thought you died on me, forehead." Ino stated, closing the medical book she had been reading.

"Well sorry to disappoint you but I'm alive and well."

"Where have you been all this time? I was actually beginning to miss the sound of your yapping."

"Well, I've been around." Sakura began to make rounds around the store, taking an eyeful of the new flowers in stock."With all this free time, I decided I'd disappear for a while."

"Oh…" Ino's smirk and smug attitude disappeared almost instantly. She hesitated at first, but she got up from the counter and made her way to the front of the store. She contemplated her next choice of words.

"I heard about what happened."

"About what?" Sakura asked her eyes buried in the flowers.

"About Sasuke." She added and Sakura cringed. "From your reaction, I guess it was true."

"That depends," Sakura hugged herself with a vague look on her face. "What did you hear?"

"That you tried to kill him and almost got killed yourself!" Ino unintentionally raised her voice, "Just what on earth were you thinking?"

Sakura was lucky enough that no one else was in the store. She thought carefully before she began to speak again. She didn't want anyone to know about it.

"…you were there when I talked to Naruto. You could have pieced together that he only wanted to bring Sasuke back for my sake. I mean, he's the kind of guy who would try his best to make anyone smile." Sakura picked a tangerine colored flower from the bunch and brought it to her face. It reminded her of him.

"…you aren't exactly 'anyone' to him."

"I know." She paused. "I just couldn't let him do it. I couldn't let him kill himself over me. So I decided to take matters into my own hands, but even still he had to save me. From Sasuke, and myself."

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm doing fine. In fact, I've been doing great since then." She chuckled, reminiscing on everything that happened to this point. "I mean, there have been a few bumps along the way but things have been looking up for me."

Sakura turned to Ino with a smile. A smile Ino hadn't seen in years. She looked…different; changed even. After that experience (the love of your life trying to kill you), she thought Sakura would be a broken shell of her former self.

It worried Ino to the point that she made multiple visits to Sakura's house, only to find that she wasn't home most of the time. She didn't want Sakura to know, so she begged Sakura's parents to stay quiet over the whole thing. But, they did tell her that Sakura would be fine.

But how could she? There must have been something keeping her together. But in that instant, a very peculiar site came into view. Maybe this was the answer she had been looking for.

"My, oh my, what do we have here?" The blonde kunoichi raised an eyebrow at the gossip-worthy site on her friend.

Sakura, who had momentarily bent over to smell to new additions to Ino's garden, jumped and whirled around to face her friend. "What?"

Ino furrowed her brow and placed her hands on her hips. "You have an explanation for that right?"

"What?"

"And I thought we were friends, forehead! How could not tell me something so important?"

"Pig, you had better tell me what you're talking about right now!"

"That's a very interesting place for a hickey."

Sakura's jaw dropped and her eyes flew in every sort of direction in hopes of finding that pesky crimson mark.

"I doubt you could see it. It's directly on your tailbone." Ino taunted.

"Just be quiet and hand me a mirror!"

"Not until you tell me who put that there in the first place!"

"Pig!"

"Fine, fine."

When Ino gave her the Mirror, Sakura twisted her neck to see and saw the red mark just above the back of her tailbone. She blushed and groaned, and immediately pulled her shirt down to cover the mark. She cringed at the thought that Ino wasn't the only one who saw this.

"Don't worry, it only shows when you bend over." Ino couldn't help the large grin that crawled up her cheek."So tell me already! Who's the lucky guy?"

At this point, Sakura knew lying to the gossip-hound was impossible. There were only a handful of things she could have said to get out of the situation. That was, if they weren't dealing with Ino.

"T-that's none of your business pig."

"Just give up now and tell me. It's only a matter of time until I find out."

_That was true. _

"It's Naruto isn't it?" Bullseye.

"N-no! Who would fall in love with that idiot?"

"Who said anything about falling in love?" Sakura could actually _feel_ Ino's curiosity and intrigue growing with that intimidating smirk on her face.

"Anyway, I have to go! Catch you later, Pig!" Sakura escaped.

"You can run Sakura Haruno, but you can't hide." Ino laughed obnoxiously.

* * *

><p>"Where were you Naruto? You missed out on the snacks." Kiba asked before he sank his teeth into his sandwich.<p>

It was late in the afternoon and everyone –Konoha 11 - had gathered at the new snack stand. Naruto looked around, noticing that everyone including Sakura was already chewing on her 'Crepe' (whatever that was).

"I was getting briefed for an upcoming mission." Naruto groaned, plopping down on the sit next to Sakura.

"Well Kakashi-sensei just cost you your snacks." Sakura replied without turning to him.

"Most of it is already gone. All that are left are Land of Fire snacks." She just took a bite into her food. Not only Sakura, but Tenten, Hinata and Ino all seemed like they sent to heaven with those new foreign snacks.

"It's totally Kakashi-sensei's fault!"

"Which is more important to you? Missions or Snacks." Kakashi lazily replied.

"Both! You can't finish a mission on an empty stomach!"

"True but there are times where you have to complete missions without eating for days." Shikamaru responded taking a bite out of his sweet pastry.

"I don't want to hear that from you when you're stuffing your face!"

"Alright, alright. Calm down you two. It's nothing to fuss about." Sakura waved her hand in a dismissive manner.

"Oh?" It was small but Naruto spotted an opening. Sakura had a spare pastry in her other hand. It was going to take perfect timing –and probably a beating afterwards- but the results would be worth it (He hoped).

Naruto opened his mouth hoping to have the sweetness of the pastries spread over his tongue but that dream would never come. For in a split-second, Sakura's eyes flashed with awareness and spotted Naruto in an instant. What happened next everyone could imagine.

Naruto's body lay lifelessly on the floor with large lumps on his head.

"Sakura-chan~ I can I please have some of yours?" Naruto sobbed.

"No! Get your own!"

"Shikamaru?"

"No way."

"Hinata…" He grumbled crawling over to her. She twitched and fidgeted in place not knowing what else to do.

"I know you wouldn't abandon me." Naruto wobbly stretched his hands towards Hinata –more to point; her Crepe.

"Um…I…I…don't know but…it w-w-wouldn't hurt r-r-right?" In that one instant, Hinata (despite her gloominess) seemed so much like that of an angel when she lowered her Crepe near his head.

"Naruto! Taking advantage of poor Hinata's kindness is cruel!" Tenten screamed out of nowhere, pulling Hinata aside.

"What? I didn't-" Naruto hung her head and sighed. "You guys are so mean."

"Weird." Ino muttered.

"What is?"

"I thought Sakura would have given her spare to him."

"Why would I do that?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Well I mean you two are dating right?" Ino smirked devilishly. Naruto twitched while Sakura's face colored red.

"What? Why would you even think I would date this dumbass?" She pointed at Naruto with her Crepe. _Sorry Naruto!_

"Chance!" Naruto lunged his head upwards for a bite, but only met with a fist that shot him back into the ground. Knocking him out instantly.

"Well I mean I found that ma-" Before Ino could finish Sakura covered her mouth.

"Shhh! No one needs to know about that!" _Crap!_ When Sakura turned, everyone seemed to be staring at her suspiciously.

"You two _have_ been spending a lot more time together." Kiba rubbed his chin while he fed Akamaru the rest of his snack.

"And Sakura you have been paying a lot more visits to his house than usual." Kakashi seemed to be staring into Sakura's soul.

"Come to think of it. I've seen you leave Naruto's apartment several times in the early morning _just_ this week." Neji added.

_Have you been spying on me!_

"Come on guys! I-I'm just checking if the poison I accidently used on him had no side-effects is all." Sakura weakly smiled. All the while she grabbed Naruto by the collar shaking him in hopes that he would wake up and help her.

"But that was at least a few weeks ago. I doubt any poisons you made would last this long."

_Quiet pig! _

"You never know, Naruto may have had an allergic reaction to a few of the components I used."

"I read his reports. He wasn't allergic to anything." Ino was quick to answer.

"You and Naruto-kun have been dating all this time…" Rock Lee, with tears streaming down his large eyes, was devastated. No that was an understatement. He placed his hands on Sakura's shoulders as he went on.

"Please Sakura-san! Tell me…tell me that it isn't true!"

"It isn't true?" Sakura laughed nervously.

"Bullshit." Ino crossed her arms.

"This was a result of my failure as a ninja…My Youth didn't burn brightly enough for the beautiful Sakura-san! Guy-Sensei I have failed in the art of Romance!" Rock-Lee immediately took a hand stand.

"I will do 5 laps around the city like this to make up for my failure!" And like that Lee was off.

"Shut up Pig! Look at what you did!" Sakura shouted.

"Not until you tell the truth!"

"Ugh, my head."

A golden voice rang in Sakura's ear. Naruto was waking up. He would fix this. She practically hammered into his head that he should keep the fact that they were dating a secret from the others - especially Ino. She wouldn't stop teasing them until they grew old.

It's not like she wanted to keep it a secret from everyone but it was embarrassing!

"Naruto are you and Sakura going out?" Ino's question sounded more like a demand.

"Huh? Yeah." Naruto answered non-chalet.

"_NARUTO, YOU IDIOT_~~!" Sakura roughly grabbed his collar and threw him into a random direction. Unfortunately, he was smashed against the Hokage Mountain base – much like Pein (He landed on his back, with his mouth wide open and the pupils in his eyes were gone). And with that, he passed out once more.

"I knew it! My hunches are always right." Ino snickered.

"It was about time." Shikamaru commented with Choji nodding in the background. He stopped stuffing his face for a moment as he said.

"Congratulations."

"And guess what else I found out today? I spotted it on Sakura earlier today."

"What what?" Tenten couldn't contain her excitement.

"Sakura had a hickey on her bottom!"

"Oh my god!" Tenten erupted into fits of excitement. Kiba burst into fits of laughter before he began his wild wolf calls (Akamaru joined as well).

"How bold..." Shino and Neji said simultaneously while blushing slightly.

"Well my kids are growing up quickly aren't they?" Kakashi smiled behind his mask.

"No…they weren't your kids in the first place." Shikamaru remarked.

_No one had bothered to see how Sakura looked. If they had, maybe they would have been spared. _

"Well Sakura, I hope you know that you have to spill every single detail!" Ino nudged Sakura who hadn't moved at all. "Sakura?"

Tenten's imagination was set on fire as Ino's face grew ghostly pale - What kind of face did Sakura have to make her like that?

"Sakura…it was a joke…don't get so angry, okay?" Ino tilted her head in a final attempt to appease to her pink haired friend before she got up and scrambled away from Sakura.

Sakura cracked her knuckles roughly and spoke grimly, "_Run_. _If you want to live for another day – Run now_."

In the next instant, everyone caught a glimpse of her face and instantly swallowed the saliva that had gathered in their mouths.

"_**Now."**_ She glared with enough killing intent to make Tsunade's glares seem like a loving gaze. They immediately scattered.

_0~0~0_

"Ow…" When Naruto finally came to it was already late at night. _Where did everybody go?_ In the distance he could see a familiar person, Hinata – frozen in place as if she had been petrified.

"Oi, Hinata~ You in there?" He waved but to no avail. Thinking that she was probably in deep thought, he shrugged and made his way home. When he got there, Sakura was pissy and wouldn't talk to him for 4 days. Naruto also found it strange that everyone was mysteriously sent to the hospital.

* * *

><p><em>Well it's happened. I finally got a job. I get money every month but I also have much less time to myself so I don't know how often I can post chapters. But I'll try as much as I can to get these chapters up every so often.<em>


	7. Last Day

_A/N: Just a fair warning but this chapter is pretty raunchy compared to the chapters, but by the end you'll understand why it's there. The name already is already a big hint in itself._

* * *

><p><em>~0~0~0~<em>

_Last Day_

_~0~0~0~_

* * *

><p>The light patting of the rain stirred her slightly from her sleep explained why the night air was cold and unforgiving. Sakura's body shivered and shook beneath her blanket crying out for warmth. With her eyes still closed, her body unconsciously searched for her main source of heat; Naruto.<p>

She furrowed her eyebrows when all she could feel was the mattress. Her eyes, though dazed and blurred, momentarily opened scanning the room for any signs of her lover. He wasn't in the room.

"That idiot…" She groaned, wrapping the blanket around her naked body as she began to search the house. "What kind of boyfriend leaves his girlfriend all alone in a room-"

He wasn't in the living room either. He wasn't even in the house.

"Naruto…?"

Her mind instinctively wandered to the beginning.

* * *

><p>The day began like any other. Sakura decided that she needed a totally new wardrobe seeing as winter was close by. She decided to take Naruto along (more like he begged). He didn't seem to mind carrying her bags. He seemed rather happy about it.<p>

"This silk blouse is really pretty. Don't you like how the colors blend so well?"

"Sakura you know I don't really pay attention to fashion right?"

"I know but this dress would look good on me right?"

"Yeah, I guess."

Sakura slapped him upside the head. "You need show more interest in the things your girlfriend wears!"

"Ow! What's the big deal? You look good in anything you wear." Naruto placed the bags on the floor so he could rub his head.

"You're just saying that."

"I'm not! I really do think that!"

"Sure you do." Sakura teased, but she knew he was telling the truth. It secretly made her happy.

They inspected the mannequins that on display. Naruto didn't really see the big deal with the clothing. They were just clothes. There was no reason to go gaga over it like half the women in the shop were.

"I don't think I'd ever want to wear that one…it's a bit too bold…" Sakura's gaze was fixed on a skirt with a slit in it on the side. To go with it there was a jacket that was designed to show some skin when you moved in it.

"What about this? I think it would look good on you." The mannequin was wearing a cream jacket and chocolate colored trousers.

"Ehhh…I don't really like it…"

"What? Why?"

"It's a bit short around the waist."

"Really…?" Naruto looked at the mannequin then he looked back to her. He thought it looked perfect.

"Don't look at me like that, pervert."

"I didn't-"

"Right." Sakura rolled her eyes, turning her body away from him. "Let's go."

Unfortunately for Naruto, he didn't see the slight blush Sakura had as she trotted down the street.

* * *

><p>Naruto didn't even put up a fight when she suggested that they got some training in for their afternoon (No pun intended).<p>

Sakura charged straight for Naruto. Naruto stood still waiting for her to attack to begin. When she was close enough, Naruto grinned. She shot her fist forward which he evaded by stepping in and grabbing her wrist. He then placed his free arm around her waist and tilted her backwards bringing his face closer to hers.

"Let's not fight Sakura," Naruto whispered seductively "Let's make love."

Sakura immediately flushed, pushed him away and moved back while clutching her chest as she yelled.

"Naruto! What the hell are you doing? I thought we were training!"

"We are."

She then lunged at him again with a raging straight kick. He dodged to the left and moved towards her. She whipped her hand to the left which Naruto easily dodged by promptly ducking to avoid the blow, but a rising knee caught him off guard. He barely had time to block it before it hit him in the chest. Or so she thought.

"That was a close one…" said Naruto as he shuffled backwards.

"There's more where that came from!" Sakura yelled as she rushed Naruto once more. This time around, she attempted an outward horizontal sideswipe with her hand aimed at Naruto' torso. Naruto ducked quickly avoiding the blow, and then stepped forward grabbing her by the waist and pulling her close to him.

"You know what they say." Naruto lowered his head closer to hers "Make love, not war."

Sakura grinded her teeth together before she slammed her forehead into his causing him to stagger backwards and lose his grip on her.

"Ow!" Naruto yelled as he clutched his forehead.

Naruto could barely dodge the next attack. Sakura swiped her leg through the air with great speed. He side stepped narrowly avoiding it the attack, but it still managed to tear a piece of his shirt.

Sakura, not missing a beat, used the momentum to spin around delivering an axe kick downward at Naruto who was still off guard. Naruto didn't have time to dodge and if he tried to block his arm would have taken serious damage. Sakura was certain the hit would connect but then there was a flash of light causing Sakura to stop her attack midway. The sun reflected off Naruto's forehead protector straight into her eyes!

Sakura was surprised which gave Naruto the perfect opportunity to spin around her and slide his arm around her waist from behind.

"I have no witty saying for this moment," Naruto rubbed his cheek against her "So just kiss me."

Sakura broke away from his embrace and turned around quickly. "What the hell is your problem!" Sakura said as she struggled to find the words to say "Just fight me seriously!"

"I just want to love you!" Naruto tried to sing. All it earned him was a glare from Sakura.

"Okay okay," Naruto chuckled and spoke apologetically "I won't do it again…probably."

"Probably?" A vein on Sakura's forehead grew three times as big. At that moment, Sakura charged at him again. Despite her angered expression, she was actually having fun.

It was just another day for her.

* * *

><p>At first Naruto didn't want to say anything at first but as time passed it became increasingly difficult for Naruto to stay silent. Her choice of clothing released an urge inside of him like no other.<p>

He allowed Sakura to walk ahead of him while she got herself a drink of cold water from the kitchen. He kept his gaze firm on Sakura's curves – the way Sakura's hips swayed sent fuzzy signals up and down his spine. His mind wandered to a daydream where he could just grab her and-

"Naruto?"

That lone voice brought him back to the real world. Naruto shook his head briskly noticing that Sakura had already finished her glass of water and was now staring at him curiously.

"Oh sorry, I just need to cool off a bit. I'll be right back."

He quickly disappeared into his bathroom, got to his sink and began to wash his face. He needed to calm down. He wanted to enjoy his last few days with his girlfriend without any of that 'interference'.

It was no surprise to Naruto that they worked up a sweat from their training but no matter how he tried to justify it he still couldn't believe his own eyes. When he returned to living room, Sakura was busying herself with Naruto's electric fan. The main problem was that she stripped down to her training bra and tights. She was showing off so much skin - she was practically naked!

His eyes drifted from the way her tight clothing clung to her firm shapely body to the sweat that glistened in the sunlight. He gulped hard. It took _all_ of his self-control not to attack her at that moment.

Sakura's eyes wandered around the room until she caught hold of the boy's intense gaze. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"It's nothing, it's nothing." He smiled nervously; trying his hardest to look away.

"Hmph," Sakura eyed Naruto, moving from her only source of cooling down to the stiff blonde. "Naruto, you know I don't appreciate it when you keep things from me."

Ever since he was a kid, Naruto noticed that he had an acute sense of smell. Although it wasn't anywhere near Kiba's ability, it was still above average. He cursed his ability this day for it would be his downfall if he didn't do anything. Underneath Sakura's sweat, he noticed something else that continued to incite him. Her womanly scent was getting to him.

He swore if she came any closer there was no holding back the beast within.

"You'll get mad at me if I say anything."

"I won't get mad."

"You promise?"

She nodded.

"Well, it's kinda hard to focus on anything when you look like that." Naruto pointed to her outfit while he sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.

Sakura's face instantly colored a deep crimson red as she instinctively wrapped her arms around her breasts and turned away from him. "W-what the hell are you thinking about?"

"I knew you'd be mad."

"I'm not mad just…" Sakura's eyes wandered as she thought of the words to express her current feelings. "I don't know! But I'm definitely not mad, okay?"

Sakura combed her hand through her hair as she struggled to keep her eye contact with him. Every so often their eyes would meet and she would be the first one to instinctively turn away. Naruto on the other hand never once broke his gaze from her. Was that her special indiscrete way of telling him to go for it?

"…are you just going to stare at me like that for the rest of the day?" She made no effort to cover for herself nor did she tell him she didn't like the staring. Most importantly of all, she never said no. In the corner of his eye he noticed that she shot him a feverish glare and in that instance his lust was finally ignited.

"Ne, Sakura." Naruto voiced as he inched towards her.

"Yeah?"

"You're beautiful."

Naruto immediately attacked her lips. Sakura fretted for a moment thinking that Naruto was going to ravage her body but she soon found that his advance was gentler than it seemed. His kiss lack the usual rough lustful luster that she had come to know during their little events. Rather, behind the seemingly forceful attack on her lips and body, there was soft warmth that Sakura couldn't help but notice.

He very deliberately and gently wrapped his arms around her body delivering soft and sweet caresses to wherever they passed. Naruto broke away for a moment, stared into her eyes as he very slowly lowered his lips to hers. And she whimpered when their lips locked together, but Naruto felt her hands grab a tight hold of him too. Naruto could feel her chest heaving against him, and she was moaning into his mouth.

Suddenly, reason tore its way through Sakura's brain as she momentarily broke away from him, speaking in huffs "W-wait! We can't."

"Why not?"

"B-because I'm dirty! I'm all covered in sweat…and dirt…"

"I don't mind." Naruto grinned.

"…you pervert…" Sakura meekly remarked, staring up at him with the same feverish eyes.

Naruto slid his arms around her, holding her loosely against him, and he smiled at her as their bodies touched. Naruto carefully lifted her, not wanting to change their position, as he brought her to his bed.

Every hug, every squeeze, every kiss, every brush of his hand was new to her. She was lost at this new feeling. Nothing had changed between them in the last few days so why did she feel so _good_? This was passion. But Passion could only exist if 'that' was present. That's when the all too important question popped up.

Was this love?

Before she could think about it Naruto slid his fingertips onto the bare skin below her stomach and lightly trailed them up and down her thigh. She shuddered and her arms tightened around him. She buried her face into his chest. Naruto ran his hand over her body, brushing her chest and sliding all the way down to the front of her thighs, letting his fingertips tease and his palms caress. Her body started to squirm, sliding her feet up and down the sheet.

"N-naruto…Naruto…_Naruto!_"

* * *

><p>By now the two of them had calmed down, showered and decided to relax on his bed. Neither of them bothered to get dressed. They simply wanted to enjoy their periodic moment of bliss.<p>

Sakura (who sat in the V of Naruto's legs) moved her back closer, cuddling up to his chest. She then turned her head so she could see his smiling face. Naruto adjusted himself against his bedroom wall to give her more room.

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask but…" She had been debating whether she should even bother asking Naruto about his decision concerning their fallen comrade. Just what was he going to do?

"…what is your training all about exactly?" She couldn't do it. She couldn't ask him flat out. As much as she wanted to know she didn't want to cause any worry between the two. For now she'd just enjoy the momentary bliss.

"…I'm not sure." Naruto noticed the look and demeanor she gave off. Maybe she wanted to ask something else? "I heard Kakashi-sensei mention something about mastering the nine-tail."

"Is that really possible?"

"In all honestly I doubt it. He's so stubborn, but I don't think it's impossible."

_**Do you honestly believe that? I'm not a force to be trifled with boy. The moment I find the chance I will escape this prison and destroy everything you hold dear!**_

"Shut up!" Naruto furrowed his brow with a sigh.

"How rude." Sakura roughly nudged him. "I haven't said anything to you yet."

"Oh, that wasn't meant for you. It was meant for the fox."

"Wait…the fox can talk?" Sakura turned to Naruto with a child-like curiosity.

"Of course he can. Why wouldn't he?"

"None of the reports I read mentioned anything about the nine tails being capable of human speech." Sakura rested her head against his chest once more. "I thought he was just a supernatural being of pure power, anger and hatred."

_**Shut this woman up, boy. Her nonsensical speaking is irritating me. **_

Naruto by now had stopped talking all together as he contemplated what he was going to say. Sakura noticed he was thinking and patiently waited on his answer. Naruto groaned as he roughly disheveling his spiky hair.

Sakura didn't speak a word. It was probably something that he had been thinking about for long time.

"Mmm, you're both wrong and right. He is a being like what you said but I've been thinking. Ever since my battle with Pain I learned that hatred cannot be born out of nothing. It's an endless chain of revenge. But for a chain to even exist it has to start somewhere." Sakura nodded.

"So in the end I came to the conclusion that there must have been a reason for him to hate humankind so much. The question is: what?"

Sakura looked at him for the longest while before she chuckled softly. "I don't believe it. Naruto Uzumaki; king of the dumbasses, the number-one-knuckle-headed-ninja just made a brilliant point. If it's come to this it must really be the end of the world."

"Oi, oi. That hurts coming from you." Naruto hung his head.

"Sorry, sorry." Sakura kissed his check apologetically. "But all jokes aside that was a very valid point. Have you ever bothered asking him?"

"He never bothered to answer me."

"Try again."

"No need. He heard everything." Naruto sighed. "He isn't the best person to hold a conversation with so I rather not tell you what he said."

"Come on, you can say it. It's not like I'll hit you for something he said."

"'_Hey, boy. Tell that violent mate of yours to not stick her nose into matters that don't concern her!' _After that he went on a rant of insults."

"Whoa."

"Told you." Naruto sighed. "Hey, at least you don't have him nagging at the back of your mind 24/7."

"Come on now. I'm just a bit curious. He doesn't have to get so defensive." Sakura huffed.

"That's how he is."

"I hope for your sake and world's that you can calm him down." Sakura snuggled back into his arms.

"I'll try." Naruto chuckled softly. "But with all that's happening, I don't feel like I'll have the chance."

"Where's your usual confidence?" Sakura thought she'd try to cheer him up. "'_Don't worry Sakura-sama, I'll defeat the baddies and come back to you just in time to enjoy the endless bowls of Ramen for the victory party afterwards!'_ I'd expect that from you."

"Sakura-sama…?" Naruto chuckled but no matter how he tried, he couldn't smile.

"It has a nice ring to it, no?"

"I wish I could say that but this time around I'm not so sure." Sakura wondered what Naruto was talking about until she saw the grim expression on his face.

"Naruto?"

"As a child, I hated everything and everyone. They treated me like a monster. I wasn't a monster. I was just a normal kid who wanted to be like everyone else. But they ignored, shunned and even tried to drive me out a couple times. It's kind of ironic that I find out that they were right all those years."

"Naruto…I-"

"One night I had a dream where no one treated me like a disease – where everyone respected me. I was the Hokage. I wanted so to become someone that the village loved – someone they deemed to be important. And so I naturally made it my dream. But no matter how much I screamed it to them all - they all just laughed at me."

Naruto wasn't sure if Sakura was conscious of the fact that she gripped his arm like she was about to rip it off.

"I won't lie. I thought of destroying the village so many times it would make anyone else's head spin. But I was glad that I kept my sanity. Because it was directly after that I actually found one person who actually cared for a monster like me. Not only him but as time went on I found not one or two but three more. I was happy. I wasn't alone in the world anymore."

"So it would only be natural that I would want to protect them all, right? I didn't want the few bonds I had to disappear. They were my only reason for living."

"There was one girl in particular I would give everything to protect. She was a really pretty girl – she was a bit more aggressive and violent than the others though. Even when she use to beat the crap out of me for being an idiot she still seemed so radiant." From the corner of his eye he could see that Sakura never lost her bitter expression.

"It really sucked to be me though. She was in love with my best friend. But that was fine, as long as I could make her smile, I was happy."

"Shortly after that, things seemed to fall apart. My best friend got consumed by his hatred and his thirst for revenge. Even when he left, the girl I loved wanted him back more than anything in the world. How could I turn down such a request? I couldn't. I wouldn't even dream of it. Her smiling face was all I wanted. If bringing him back would make her smile then so be it."

Sakura hung her head low, and Naruto responded by pulling her closer to him and kissing the crown of her head.

"We fought on that very day and I lost. He could have ended me right then and there, but why didn't he? That has been on my mind ever since that day." Naruto just knew that there was logic behind Sasuke's actions. He couldn't let this fact go.

"What hurt the most was not that I lost my best friend to darkness, but the fact that I was powerless to stop him! I failed to keep my promise. I only made her sad, I only made her cry. If only I wasn't so weak! It was frustrating. _What had I been training so hard for?_"

"Naruto! Stop beating yourself over it!" Sakura spoke up after a long silence.

"Sorry." He closed his eyes, letting the anger drain from his body. "And now, we are at those crossroads again."

"I'll have to fight him; along with Tobi and Kabuto. I couldn't even touch Tobi let alone beat him. Kabuto turned into some Snake freak with all of Orochimaru's techniques so fighting him is another pain in itself. To be honest, I don't know if I can do it. It's a scary thought really." Naruto chuckled nervously.

"When Sasuke and I clash, what will I do? Believe in the brotherly bond we have – or had – or treat him as the S class threat like everyone else. I honestly don't know what to do." Naruto's lips curved into a frightening scowl.

"Regardless, I lack the power necessary to stop him; that could not be more obvious. Who's to say he won't kill me? Even if I manage to somehow bring him back to the village, won't they try to execute him for his crimes? Will I have the strength to save him from himself?"

The two soaked in the awkward silence that slowly followed suit. Naruto had to say something. Anything.

"I have to admit though. I made as much of my life as I could. I had a few regrets in my life, but those couldn't be helped. I'm not the Hokage but mostly everyone in the village respects me now. They even call me a Hero, but really and truly I don't feel like one. A hero never fails to protect. I couldn't protect my best friend and that caused pain and hurt the one I loved."

"And even if it was for a short time," Naruto tightened his hug on Sakura "I got the girl of my dreams. So all in all it wasn't so-"

"…_cut the crap_."

"Huh?"

_"Cut the crap Naruto!"_ Naruto was visibly shocked from Sakura's violent outburst. She immediately broke away from Naruto, turned around just as quickly, holding Naruto's head between her two hands.

"Listen to yourself, 'I, I, I'. Enough of that already! You said it yourself that you made bonds all through the years! Why won't you realize that you're not alone! You're taking it upon yourself to face everyone's sin!"

"I understand that you want to protect everyone but you can't do everything alone! Why do you think we're here? No matter what, we are getting through this together! You understand me?"

"And why, Kami, _why_ are you saying this like you've already given up? Weren't you the one who told me not to act like you weren't here?" Naruto remained silent, looking at her with impassive eyes.

"You still have your life to live Naruto! Everyone loves you! Think of how heartbroken they will be once you're gone!"

"Don't you want to be the Hokage? Don't you want to return with your best friend? Don't you want to want to return to the girl you cherish?" He didn't respond.

"Tell me Naruto!"

"I'm sorry, Sakura. I said something rude to you and hurt your feelings." He stretched his arms out wrapping them around her neck pulling her in for a hug. "I'm sorry."

"Let go of me. I don't want your apologies. I want your answer."

"This is my answer." Naruto tightened his hold on her.

"…what are you saying…?" Sakura didn't want to think of the implications of what he meant. "…Naruto?"

"I'm sorry." He immediately replied; more sternly than before. Remorse, sadness, anger – none of these were present in his voice. It scared her.

"You aren't being fair you know…" Sakura fought the tears behind her eyes, sticking to the firm belief that Naruto was trying to make her come to terms with what _could_ happen.

"I want you here with me, Naruto. Promise me that you'll come back."

"I'm sorry."

"_You're being a hypocrite Naruto!" _

"I'm sorry."

"_Stop apologizing and just say you'll come back!" _

"I'm sorry, Sakura."

"_Naruto!" _

Sakura pulled away from him and stared into his eyes (which only served to make her emotions run wild). His face was void of all emotion. Sakura was the first to make a move. She slowly closed the distance between the two with a small peck on Naruto's lips.

"Naruto please…"

She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his head and with that she pressed her lips against his over and over. Sakura pulled away from him, only for a moment noticing that Naruto's expression hadn't changed.

By now the tears she had been holding back, streamed down her face. "I…don't want to lose you Naruto."

"I'm sorry…"

Sakura rested her head against his chest. "You're not being fair…was this your plan from the beginning…what was the point of confessing to me? Was it all just to comfort me? Was it your way of making me momentarily happy…? I'm not happy at all Naruto…just tell me you'll be back…and I'll smile. Please."

Naruto wanted to say something to her - something to comfort her. He didn't want her to cry anymore. But there was nothing else he could say.

"I'm sorry."

As time passed by, Sakura realized that she was beginning to dose off. She was mentally drained. She had no place else to go. Ironically Naruto hurt her, but he was her only source of comfort. She couldn't leave his even if she wanted (and she wanted to run far away). It wasn't long until she fell asleep on his chest.

The last thing she remembered was Naruto brushing her hair, smiling bitterly as he stared at her drowsy face. "I'll always love you Sakura."

* * *

><p>Minutes past midnight, no one in the village seemed to be astir; all except for a familiar blonde. He tossed and turned in bed (trying his best not to wake Sakura), but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't catch a wink of sleep. Giving up the thought, he sat at the edge of the bed.<p>

Naruto got up slowly, making sure not to wake his sleeping beauty. He gently caressed her face with a smile before he made his way to the window. It was only then did the pitter patter of the pouring rain reach his ears. It rained cats and dogs out there. It was on nights like these he would wake up from even the most beautiful dreams for the strangest reasons. But tonight was different.

He mindlessly stared out into the village to watch the rain. Staring at the rain always calmed him down. He would need that; for tonight he would leave the village. If he didn't he wouldn't know what to do or say to her when he left. Goodbyes were never his strong suit - especially there was a high chance that he wasn't coming back.

So for the entire day he planned on showing her just how much her cared about her – just how much he loved her. So what better way to show her than to spend the entire day with her doing what she wanted? An added bonus was making love to her. Naruto purposefully held back his animalistic lust and made sure he took care of her body. She seemed to enjoy it judging by the number of times she screamed his name.

_I've done all I can to make her smile, right? With this it should be fine...right? _

His only regret for the day was bringing up the topic of Sasuke. He had originally planned to not make mention of that for the entire day but his guilt got the better of him.

He had lied to Sakura. He had hurt her badly because of his own selfishness. He began the relationship knowing that it was going to end this way. For that, he would feel eternally guilty.

Naruto turned for a quick moment, looking upon the girl he loved ever since he was a child. He watched her grow from a haughty little girl to the mature and reasonable woman that she was today. He smiled as he watched her snuggle closer to his pillow (thinking it was him). He kissed her for what felt like the last time.

"Naruto…don't leave me…" She muttered his name.

In that instant something inside him broke. Naruto immediately buried his face in the palm of his hand - streams of liquid leaking between his fingers. The tears that he had been holding back for so long began to flood out.

In addition to becoming the Hokage he was filled with a new reason for living – to make her the happiest woman alive. He would do anything to make her smile. This was his reason for being so uneasy. Making her happy was something he failed to do in the past.

He was about to break his promise with the love of his life; fight a war to determine the fate of the world and fight his best friend. He had a lot on his plate. But that wouldn't stop him. He had a duty to the people of the leaf. He had to carry the will of fire and burn it brightly for everyone to see.

Naruto only chuckled at the realization that he was now going to follow the same path that his Godfather did. He finally understood how Jiraiya felt when he left to fight Pain; to leave his loved ones behind to face an enemy that he had no hope of defeating.

"Goodbye Sakura. Be safe…and be happy."

No matter what happened to him the Tale of Naruto Uzumaki would always go on like his Godfather and Father before him.


	8. The Good Life

_Author's Notes:_

_This was a oneshot I made up after I read Chapter 503 of the manga named Uzumaki. I figured since it fit perfectly well with the idea I had with the story I decided to put it here so I'm deleting the original. Sorry for any problems.  
><em>

_I know this chapter may confuse you at first but read til the end. Everything will make sense then.  
><em>

* * *

><p><em>o-o-o<em>

_The Good Life  
><em>

_o-o-o_

* * *

><p><em>I felt an immense encroaching loneliness worm its way through my soul. What was this? It was like I was trapped in a sea of darkness. <em>

_Pain! Throbbing pain! Pain encircled my body wrapping me tightly in its fiery embrace. I could feel body twist and writhe. I was drowning in an ocean of pain. _

_But at that moment, I felt like had been awakened from a deep slumber. The numbness I had felt was gone and I felt warmth. _

* * *

><p>The sunlight peeked in from the windows. It was becoming brighter by the second. Naruto groaned uncomfortably before he hid his head under his pillow.<p>

The alarm clock rang loudly, blasting into Naruto's ears. His head throbbed. As if by reflex, in his half-awoken state, his fingers searched for the button on top of the alarm clock that would stop the awful ringing noise. When he finally found the damned thing he relaxed. But there was still one problem; the alarm-clock was still going.

_What the hell?_

If he didn't put at stop to its insufferable ringing he was going to have a headache for the rest of the day. So he did what any normal villager would do. He stretched his arm outwards and held his hand up. Soon enough a mass of spiraling blue energy began to gather and form in Naruto's hand.

_Rasengan. _

He raised his hand and smashed the A ranked ninjutsu technique on the clock obliterating it completely. (_Well most of the villagers were ninjas so you get the idea.)_

_This way he could have slept all he wanted._

"_Naruto! Get your lazy ass out of bed right this instant!"_ A loud but feminine voice shrieked.

_Or not. _

He peeked under his pillow and his gaze met with hers, Kushina Uzumaki. His mom was a woman well-known for her beauty. Her skin was fair and her eyes were violet. She wore a high-collared, sleeveless loose-fitting dress with a green apron over it, a black band on her left wrist and standard sandals. She had long, bright-red hair that reached down to her calves, with strands that framed both sides of her face, with the left one being parted by a hair clip.

In her childhood, she had a round face which with her red hair made her look like a tomato. _If I ever said that to her face I'd be eating everything through a straw for the next year. Yes_, his mother was violent, _very_ violent but it was her personal traits that made him love his mom.

"Just give me five more minutes mom."

"Five more minutes my butt! You'll be stuck in here all day while you let a perfectly beautiful day pass you by!"

"But I'm tired…" He whined.

"Then next time don't go messing around with your friends in the middle of the night doing god knows what."

Kushina waited for his response. She waited, waited and waited some more but there was nothing. That was, until she heard snoring.

"Heh," She cracked her knuckles and grinned "You're a brave kid alright."

"GAHHH!" Naruto felt nothing but excruciating pain when his mother put him in a submission hold. She had one arm pulling on Naruto's neck while the other was holding his legs in place while she grinded her knee into his back. He could have sworn that he heard his bones crack on several accounts.

"I give! I give! I'll get up!"

"Good boy." Kushina smiled brightly and released him. Just then, out of the corner of her eye she saw the most peculiar thing. "Naruto, dear. Just what happened to your alarm clock? You know the one that your father bought for you _just_ last week?"

_Oh crap_.

"Um, I don't know. When I woke up it was just like that…" Naruto panicked. He had to get away. Thanks to mothers 'loving embrace' he couldn't well move his body. He grabbed the edge of his bed and tried to pull himself away. But as fate would have it, small delicate (but horrifyingly strong) fingers locked around his head. He could feel the cold sweat pour down his face.

"Is that so? Then why does your dresser top have spiral indentations on it?"

"Well the funniest thing happened…" Naruto laughed nervously "You see, what happened was that…Shikamaru um….no…Kiba did his…uh…"

"Yes?" She smiled. Naruto could practically see the beating coming by just looking at her.

"Yeah I got nothing."

"That's what I thought."

"Be gentle…"

* * *

><p>Naruto's lifeless corpse (what was left of him) sat on the family table mindlessly eating the hardy breakfast that his mother laid before him. After what he had been through his brain wouldn't be active for another few minutes or hours depending on his mother's mood. They didn't call her the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero for nothing.<p>

Also at the table was his ever vigilant father, Minato Namikaze of whom he wasn't speaking to at the moment. Despite Naruto's cries for help his father refused to lift a finger to save him. Even so he had to give his father credit for staying out. Not even the fourth Hokage messed with his mother when she was in one of her 'moods'. He simply hid behind his newspaper "Daily Nin" while he drank his morning coffee ignoring the whole ordeal.

Minato was a fairly tall fair-skinned man who on more than one occasion had been compared with Naruto in terms of physical appearance. Since both had bright blue-eyes and spiky blond hair. Normally he wore a short-sleeved long white coat over his Konoha-nin uniform, decorated by flames-like motifs on the edges, with the kanji for _Yondaime Hokage_ written vertically down the back, and closed on the front by a thin orange rope.

"So what plans do you have for today Naruto?" Asked Kushina while she busied herself with washing the dishes.

"Nothing for today."

"Oh? You aren't training today?" His father added. Naruto pretended that his mother asked.

"Nope. Today is my day off. Ah! I do have a training session with Sai and Sakura-chan tomorrow morning though. Kakashi-sensei said something about team bonding."

"Bonding? Isn't that the third time he's said that this month?" Kushina asked a bit surprised.

"Well Sai and I still don't exactly see eye to eye…" Naruto sighed biting into his toast. Well how could he with the guy practically obsessing over Naruto's junk?

"Oh my. Is he still hitting on you?"

"Mom for the last time he isn't hitting on me! He just has horrible people skills!"

"So…is that why he keeps commenting on your family jewels?" His father dropped his newspaper low enough for Naruto to see his raised eyebrow.

"I…I don't know!"

"But you do take after your father. See you're so handsome you even attract people of the same sex."

"Please don't ever say that again." Both men answered in unison.

"Ah!" Kushina pounded her left fist lightly with her right "Speaking of attraction, how are you and Sakura-san? How has your relationship progressed?"

Naruto immediately flushed. "For the last time mom, stop asking about me and Sakura-chan! We're just fine!"

"From what you told me last time, things were getting quite 'hot' between you two."

Naruto violently spurted out his orange juice. "Dad! I told you to be quiet about that!"

"Oops."

"What? What what what? Why wasn't I told about this?" Kushina had a strange sparkle in her eyes. "Details, details!"

Naruto shot his father a death glare. Minato quietly looked away. "Maybe another time…"

"Although, I feel sorry for Hinata-san." Kushina sighed.

"What? Why are you dragging Hinata into this?"

Minato finally finished his paper and put it down then he took a sip of his coffee. "You mean you haven't realized yet?"

"Realized what?"

"Hinata-san seems to suffer from periodic faint spells that only seem to happen when you're around. Do you know why that happens?"

Naruto brought his hand to his chin as he thought about it.

"No one else. Just you." Minato added.

"No not really." Naruto answered flatly. Minato sighed heavily.

Why was his son so dense? He wondered where he got it from. It couldn't have possibly been him. He had always been on his toes. His eyes drifted slowly onto his wife. Kushina sensed it immediately.

"You." She pointed at her husband with her spatula "You're thinking rude thoughts aren't you."

"No no. You're imagining things." He smiled. Well if she was dense when she was younger and she wasn't now. It could only mean that it was a matter of time for Naruto.

"You're still doing it." She glared. He only smiled.

"Oye! Naruto!" A husky voiced called from outside. Naruto got up from his chair and rushed over to the window. Kiba, Shikamaru and Chouji were all outside waiting for him all wearing their usual outfits.

"Oh, hey guys. What's up?"

"We were all headed to the coliseum for a little sparring. You want to come?"

"Nah, today is my day off I just want to relax today."

"What? Come on man don't be such a chicken!"

"A what? Ok, that's it you're on!" Naruto grabbed the ledge of his window and leaned forward about to make his jump to the street but someone didn't agree with his plan.

"Naruto before you make plans with your friends you should at least finish your breakfast!"

"What? Aw, come on mom."

"Don't 'aw' me."

"Hey Naruto, you coming or what?" Chouji asked while he stuffed himself with pork chips.

"Nah not now." Naruto gave the boys a signal with his hand before he made his way back through the window. The boys knew that he was going to make a run for it.

Naruto walked casually back to the table and waited for his mom to turn her back. The moment he did, he grabbed his unfinished toast stuffed it in his mouth and made his way back to the window. He slid down the second story rooftop and flipped through the air before he heard his mom scream 'Hey! I told you to finish your breakfast!"

_Escape success. _

"Are you sure about ditching your mom like that? She is going to be awfully pissed." Shikamaru yawned. He was more than familiar with Naruto's mother's actions. After watching her beat Naruto senseless for the idiotic things he did (which he did a lot of) Shikamaru picked up on a few things.

"Its fine, it's fine." Naruto cheerfully grinned. "So what's the plan guys?"

"Well first we were-" Shikamaru began to explain but he was interrupted.

"Hey, what's that?" Kiba pointed upwards.

"A bird?" Chouji suggested still stuffing his face.

"A plane?" Kiba added.

"No…that's-" Before Shikamaru could even finish his sentence it was too late. Kushina's foot had already made impact with Naruto's face. The sound could have been heard from a mile away. She bounced of his face with ease and made a stylish pose as she landed. Naruto on the other hand, had a hard meeting with the ground below. All three boys stood there stupefied.

"Hey there boys. Good mornings to you all." She smiled brightly.

"Morning…Mrs. Uzumaki…" All three answered nervously.

"Now if you'll excuse me. I'll be taking this." She grabbed Naruto roughly by the collar and began to haul his lifeless body. All three boys said a little prayer in their hearts hoping Naruto would live another day.

"Fool, I tried to warn you." Shikamaru scratched his head.

* * *

><p><em>I am alive but what is this weight that follows me? It drags me down, robbing me of my will to move. <em>

_It makes me wonder how much my life is worth. I feel nothing. I am empty inside. Therefore I am nothing. _

_This life mocks me. Numbing my emotions until I cannot feel…yet I do feel. _

_What is this state? I cannot say. _

_For I may just be dead_

* * *

><p>"Hey Naruto - whoa! What happened to you?" Was the first thing Naruto heard when he exited his house.<p>

After finishing his breakfast, washing the dishes and giving his mom a back massage he finally had the permission to leave the house. After putting on a simple orange T- shirt with the famous Uzumaki spiral on the front and long black pants he was off.

What 16 year old needed _permission_ to leave his own house anyway?

Anyway, Sakura, Hinata and Ino were all staring at the foot print his mother left on his face.

"I rather not talk about it."

"Okay…? Anyways, what are you up to?" Sakura was still curious as to where he got that mark but she let it slide.

"Nothing. I thought I'd go meet up with the guys but today's my day off and I don't really want to spar. So a walk I guess? What about you girls?"

"We aren't doing much. Just shopping for new clothes and anything else we could get our hands on." Ino replied non-chalet but Naruto could see through her façade. He could tell how excited she was by the bright smile she tried to hide.

Naruto couldn't help but notice what the girls were wearing. Ino's small slender body was covered with a sleeveless Ivory blouse with a cute black ribbon that stuck out in the front which hung over the medium length onyx skirt that she wore.

"And I know you wouldn't want to be caught up in our 'all girl's shopping day' so I'll see you later, ok?" Sakura wore a long flowing rose-colored dress with flowers adorning the bottom section. Though she didn't have the girlish well-developed figures that the other girls had but she definitely had her own personal charms. Sakura noticed Naruto's gaze and blushed slightly.

"Ah, but Naruto-kun can come along can't he?" Hinata spoke up meekly. Naruto's face gleamed. Sakura turned red (for a completely different reason) when he turned his gaze onto Hinata. Hinata had attained a full-figured body that Naruto could not help from noticing. Her outfit comprised of a lavender and cream sleeveless shirt that more than tightly clung to her body with cream pants and her usual black heeled sandals. Her body was enough to drive him crazy but the clothes were just too much.

"Hinata, the point was that it was an all _'girls'_ shopping day." Ino stepped in.

"Wait, no he can come along. He won't help with the shopping but there are other things he can help with." Sakura smiled. Naruto had no idea what else he could possibly help with.

_Wait, what if…no, they wouldn't…what if they asked me to help get them dressed! _Naruto couldn't help the perverted grin that came across his face. Luckily for him none of the girls saw it.

"Alright then! Let's get a move on!" Naruto got behind the girls and began to push them all.

* * *

><p>"This is such a drag…" Naruto sighed heavily.<p>

His dreams of dressing the girls were dashed when they revealed their true intentions - make him carry all the bags. He was up to his armpits in boxes.

Just how much were they going to spend? They were burning more money in one day than Naruto got in a month's worth of allowance.

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun…if I had known this was what Sakura-chan meant I wouldn't have suggested bringing you along." Hinata bowed. _Geez, she didn't have to do that._

"Since I had nothing planned to do today, its fine." Naruto gave a little smile.

"But…but…"

_She really isn't going to stop is she? Alright, something to take her mind off it._

"What about that dress Hinata? I'm sure it would look good on you." Naruto used his head to point a random dress.

Hinata followed his direction and her entire face turned red. He swore he could see steam coming out. Naruto turned to the dress and was amazed that people even made dresses like that. Hinata's gaze was fixed on the dress with slits on the side. Not only were there slits but it was strapless and exposed the wearers back. To go with it there was a jacket that was designed to show some skin when you moved in it. Naruto turned his gaze back to Hinata and couldn't help but imagine her in it. He gulped and Hinata heard.

"Naruto-kun…please don't look at me like that…" Hinata looked away. She couldn't take much more of this. She fought herself to stay conscious.

"Ah sorry…" He turned away as well.

"Just what are you trying to get her to wear?" Sakura's voice exploded in the shop. The next thing Naruto knew Sakura's fist was in his face.

"Ah! The dresses!" Ino kicked Naruto's hands up launching all the boxes into the air; giving Sakura the go sign to land her fist deep into his head shooting him out of the shop and onto the street. All three girls caught all the boxes with the simplest of ease.

"That was a close one." Ino relaxed.

"If you had enough time to kick the boxes out of my hand why not pull me out of the way in the first place!" Naruto shouted.

Just how many times was he going to get injured for the day? And it was still morning_! My life is surrounded by feisty violent women_ Naruto thought as he rubbed his face. Despite him saying this, he enjoyed them a bit more than other women. Maybe his mother had some influence on that.

"You deserved it you pervert." Ino replied non-chalet.

"I didn't- ah forget it." Just then, Naruto could hear the faint whispers of the on looking villagers.

"That's the Hokage's son?"

"I knew it! He was just a fool hearty youth who shameless flirted with any girl he pleases."

"He is nothing like his father."

"I don't want my kids hanging around him. They'll be corrupted in a matter of minutes."

"He is just like his monster of a mother."

Oh, that was it. They could insult him on whatever they pleased but no one was insulting his mother.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted but before he could say anything he felt warm hands wrap around his outstretched arms. Sakura held his arm and shook her head. Hinata walked up to him and began dusting off his T-shirt. Just then Ino threw him a handkerchief.

"Clean yourself up loverboy." She smiled.

"Come on Naruto. Let's go." Sakura and Hinata each grabbed his hand and pulled him back into the shop. He was a bit taken a back at first but then he wore his usual grin. His irreplaceable friends were always there for him. And for that he could not thank them enough.

* * *

><p><em>In a matter of seconds I questioned my sanity. The sun was a bright ray of light that illuminated the vast skies - yet why was the air so frigid? <em>

_My clothing clung tightly to me as if moistened. My breath was condensed and an ever present figure in my weary face. _

_Everyone went on as if nothing was wrong. _

_Was I losing it? Was I slowly slipping into a place of no return?_

* * *

><p>That night all the teams had come together under sheer coincidence. It wasn't like Sakura noticed how depressed Naruto got after the villagers badmouthed him and decided to get everyone together to cheer him up.<p>

Nope, it wasn't that at all. Even Tsunade, the head Medic at the village hospital took some time from her busy schedule to come meet her little brother. All of it coincidentally, of course.

Thanks to her, they found themselves hugging excessively, singing songs together, and listening to a drunk's jokes. Well it was mostly Rock-Lee, Kiba, Chouji and surprisingly Neji.

"Aren't you guy's under-aged?" Ino shook her head.

"It's fine isn't it? It's just a little Sake." Kiba answered his face completely red.

"You know what's wrong with this village? We don't have enough bears to wrestle mongooses to the death. People say that the Mongoose's natural enemy is the snake, but that's bull!" Tsunade hiccupped "It's actually the mountain platypus!"

"What the hell is she saying?" Naruto laughed for the first time today, that made Sakura feel a little bit better.

"Don't bother Naruto. She's stoned." Shikamaru tried his best to stay away from the alcohol induced ninjas.

"Neji! Lee! Get your butt down from that table!" Ten-ten barked. Neji and Rock-Lee were still dancing to the crappy oldies music.

"Never!" Both of them gave a hearty laugh.

"You know when I was your age this sort of thing never happened!" Chouji kept shouting to a wooden statue of a badger.

"When you were the age of a wooden badger huh?" Shino asked from the corner of the room.

"Well this is getting a little out of control," Sakura laughed nervously.

"It isn't that bad." Hinata smiled "Naruto-kun seems to be enjoying himself." Naruto by now had joined Lee's and Neji's two man band.

Before Sakura could speak up, Sai came into her peripheral vision.

"Um, 'Hey baby, you come here often?'" Just then, everything became quiet. Everyone seemed to jump back in shock. The jukebox stopped and the trio stopped dancing and everyone else in the restaurant turned their attention to Sai.

"…what?"

"I read that this is the most appropriate means of 'hitting on chicks' as this book reads." Sai pulled out a book from his backpack.

"…why are you hitting on _me_? You know that I already have Naruto…" Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, don't be flattered. And Naruto I have no intention of 'stealing your girl'. It's just that this book says that you will achieve better results if you practice on women you find completely unattractive. Hideously ugly women give the best results, which is why I chose you."

Sakura smiled, and so did Sai. Naruto quickly grabbed both Neji and Lee's heads and ducked under the table. Tsunade plucked Hinata out from her seat next to Sakura with ease. The others either scattered out of the building or braced themselves.

"_WHAT WAS THAT?"_

* * *

><p><em>In the dark I stand alone.<em>

I believed that I would be lead into the warm forgiving light but here I am in the cold dark.

For every tear I shed, a piece of light (of my heart) was lost to the void never to be seen again.

_For every time I cried out, a piece of my soul was lost._

How long has this gone on? How long have I been here? That can't be told.

_Will I be a prisoner to its enigmatic grasp forever more?_

* * *

><p>The cool night air whipped by as a lone boy stood up on a roof. After the party was done, everyone returned home - though Tsunade had to take Sai home on a stretcher. It was already about nine at night and it was rather dark out.<p>

"Hey dad." Naruto sensed his father's presence.

"What's up, Champ?" Minato's voice echoed with worry.

"Oh it's nothing."

The two stood side-by-side on the roof of the Hokage tower, looking out over the town. Many lights were on, illuminating the windows of the village houses.

"When Naruto the hyperactive-knuckle-headed-ninja has a long face it's almost like the end of the world." He sat down and enjoyed the view.

"You're exaggerating."

"Not from a parent's point of view."

"Fine, it's just that…even after all I've done over the years there are still people who hate me. I don't know what to do to make them accept me. All they see in me is the Fourth Hokage's son. It's like they want me to become you. It made me think even if I achieved my dream people would still see me in this light. My friends believe that things will change but I don't know…I'm just starting to lose faith in myself."

"People are like that. They expect you to be a sort of 'mini-me' but quite frankly that's impossible. Besides a lot of people would be angry with you if you turned into your old man. All your friends and family, for example."

"We don't expect you to be like your family, we expect you to be yourself. We wouldn't like it any other way." He ruffled his son's hair. Naruto laughed lightly and returned the favor.

"I can't guarantee that they will change their minds about you. Only fate can decide that. But what can change is the way you think about yourself. If you can't see how hard you've worked, how strong you've become, how can you expect anyone else to do the same?"

"Thanks Dad." This was one thing he loved about his father. He always knew just what to say to him. Though his father had always been stern and silent at times, he always knew just when the right moment to talk was.

"Though," His father rubbed his stubble "Them calling you a pervert will never go away."

"_What?_"

"Just look at your Godfather. He is one of the strongest ninja I know and he still can't go around town without someone calling him a pervert." Minato gave a nervous chuckle.

"You…" Naruto sighed. His father also knew when to say things that weren't needed at the time. Actually, that weren't needed ever.

"Now remind me of that dream of yours one more time?"

"I'm going to be a better ninja than my mom and I'm going to become a bigger badass than my dad! I'm going to be the next Hokage!"

"That's my boy!" Minato smiled as he put his hand on Naruto's back "Now how about some ramen."

The next thing Naruto knew was that he was in front of the Ichiraku Ramen bar. His father lived up to his name "The Yellow Flash". One of these days he'd have to ask his dad to teach him that move.

Whenever he did ask about learning some of his father's techniques he'd always say 'Instead of copying my moves. Why not create your own techniques that can surpass even mine?' His father was right. Naruto had learned a ton of new jutsu by his imagination alone. He imagined that was his father's goal in the first place.

When Naruto entered the bar, Iruka, Kakashi and Jiraya were all there. As if they were waiting for him. Minato and Naruto sat down and began to chat. Naruto had never felt so at peace than when all his teachers and friends were together.

Naruto had come a long way in his life. He didn't know if his future entailed; the dangers and hard work but what he did know that he could never ask for a better family than the Village hidden in the leaf to help him along his adventures.

_But despite all of this, Naruto knew that it had to be said…_

"Hey dad?"

"Yes son?"

"None of this is real, is it?" Naruto asked not once breaking away from his delicious bowl of ramen.

"What do you mean?" His father didn't seem fazed by his unorthodox question. Rather, it seemed like he had been expecting it for some time.

"Ever since I woke up today, I've been experiencing the weirdest sensations and feelings. It was like I was dreaming while being wide awake."

"You sure you weren't suffering from the bad ramen you ate yesterday?"

"I'm sure. Besides no matter how bad ramen tastes it can't make you experience a heavy downpour during a bright sunny day." Naruto chuckled, taking his bowl up and draining out the sauce into his mouth.

"That's some dream."

"That's just it. It got me thinking - why would I be feeling that during a daydream? The only logical solution would be that things were the other way around. Wouldn't you agree?" Naruto turned to his father who returned his gaze with an affectionate smile.

"Yeah, I would."

"Are you leaving?" Jiraiya asked him, his face flushed from the large amount of alcohol he had been drinking.

"I guess. As much as I want to stay here, I get the feeling that I need to be somewhere else."

"You might die if you go, Naruto." Iruka's face was full of concern.

"Are you really prepared for something like that?" Kakashi added.

"Even if I wasn't, I would still have to go." Naruto did a few stretches, turning to the door to find the last person he wanted to see. Her lengthy salmon pink hair swung as she made her way to the blonde.

"You don't have to leave Naruto." Her sad eyes were more than enough to keep Naruto rooted. His lips spread into bittersweet smile as he combed his hand through her soft hair, reaching down kissing her gently on the forehead.

"I'm sorry but someone else is waiting for me."

With a faint smile she hesitantly stepped to the side allowing him passage. He turned to his family with a smile, "Goodbye and thank you." Naruto braced himself and rushed out of the shop. In that instant his body was covered with chakra - not only his but a strange red chakra joined in as they swirled around him and condensed into one orange colored aura.

And in that instant he was surrounded by a warm light…

* * *

><p>The intense warmth that he had been feeling came to an immediate end. Naruto's body quickly turned frigid and moist. <em>Rain?<em>

Naruto had no time to take in the new environment. His eyes flashed open and without warning the first thing that greeted him was the business end of a katana.

"Woah!" Naruto heard a creek coming from his neck when he bent it to side to avoid the oncoming blade. Being only inches from his face when he noticed it, it only managed to allow it to slice his cheek. Not skipping a beat - he pushed his right arm against the ground and spun his body so that he could launch his foot into the assailants gut.

However, his enemy was quick and managed to block Naruto's advance with his free hand. Sensing a quick demise if nothing was done, Naruto clapped his hands together.

_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! _

Two clones materialized from twin puffs of smoke and rushed the assailant each carrying a spiraling sphere of condensed blue chakra.

_Rasengan! _

Unfortunately for Naruto the assailant was quick with his feet. He released his grip on Naruto's leg and immediately dashed backwards – flipping multiple times until he was a safe distance away.

As Naruto got up from the ground, he realized that he didn't need to see his opponents face to recognize them. Naruto could read the dark aura that radiated from his body. He knew that aura better than anyone.

"_Sasuke…"_

"Well isn't that a shame?" He chuckled darkly. "I put you in that world so you could enjoy your last few seconds in _this_ one."

"As great as that world was, it was only a fabricated substitute for this one."

"Can't you just shut up and accept the great kindness I bestowed upon you?" Sasuke glared with his ever present Sharingan active.

"Sorry but I can't accept gifts from old friends unless they give it with all their heart." Sasuke only raised an eyebrow.

"I know how powerful you are Sasuke. Your genjutsu was always flawless." Naruto closed his eyes momentarily, breathing out a long sigh.

"What are you getting at?"

"I could have felt what was going on the outside, Sasuke. A guy like you wouldn't make a slip up like that unless you wanted me to escape."

"…now why on earth would I do something like that?" Sasuke began to circle around his self-proclaimed best friend.

"Maybe you were tormenting with visions of what my life could be like without you around. Maybe you're sending me a message that I should just kill you here and get on with my life."

He didn't respond.

"Or maybe your using it as psychological warfare to mess with me so that I'll slip up during our fight." Naruto's clones by now had followed suit and closed their eyes. Sasuke was cautious of Naruto's actions.

"…are you done with your nonsensical prattle?" Sasuke gripped the handle on his blade tightly as he ran a strong electrical current through it.

"I guess I am."

As if the sky could sense the boys' melancholic moods, the sky that had long grown dark let loose a heavier drizzle. A bitter smile tugged at Naruto's cheeks. He wondered if God himself had done it to suit the mood.

Sasuke was back to his original position as he eyed down Naruto. In that instance, Naruto's clones' eyes flashed open revealing their red beast-like pupils. _The Kyuubi._ Sasuke was momentarily taken aback when the clones caught ablaze in red chakra that fashioned themselves into jackets that coated them.

The original Naruto slowly opened his eyes to reveal his yellow frog-like pupils. _"Let's end this…Sasuke."_

Sasuke didn't respond. He only grinned darkly as his eyes took the form of his new Mangekyō.

As lightning flashed through the sky - as if signaling the beginning of the end – the boy dashed towards each other.


	9. Loneliness

_0-0-0_

_Loneliness_

_0-0-0_

* * *

><p>An endless amount of dead blood, torn flesh, broken bones and mangled bodies filled the medical tent. Tsunade's stories of the many horrors of war could have never prepared her for <em>this<em>. She lost count of the number of times she wanted to throw up. This was honestly too much for her to handle. But she had a duty to fulfill; to save as many lives as she could. She couldn't stop, she had to press forward.

Sakura cursed under her breath numerous times. She was well aware that she couldn't save everyone, but experiencing that overwhelming uselessness of your skills when your patient's life slip through your fingers was enough to drive her insane. It took nearly all of her mental fortitude not to break down.

She had to persevere. She had to keep pushing through.

But in the back of her mind, _his_ face kept popping up. What if his body was the next to enter through the tent? What if she let his life slip through because there was simply nothing she could do for him?

"Wait, what is that?" She heard a voice cry outside of the tent.

"Has the Yellow flash returned?"

"Isn't that…Naruto?" Neji asked, poking his head out of the tent. Sakura didn't wait. In a broken sprint she rushed past the Hyuga clan genius, laying her eyes on the most peculiar sight. A boy coated in yellow flaming chakra fighting off the oncoming swarms of enemy ninja and clones.

Had he done it? Had he mastered the nine-tails?

He began fighting off the hordes of enemy clones and ninjas but even with his new power, the sheer number of enemies only seemed to grow. He blew most of them away by spinning around with his elongated chakra arms. In that short moment, he caught a hold of the longing gaze that Sakura gave him.

He paused, only for a short moment, locking his gaze with hers. He raised an eyebrow as Sakura's expression grew more and more horrified. It took him a few seconds but he finally understood when Sakura cried out his name but it was too late. A long blade pierced through the boy's torso with ease, followed by several others as the ninjas ganged him.

Rather than cry out in pain, Naruto grinned smugly as he raised his arm to the air, creating a giant spiraling shuriken with a Rasengan as the center piece holding everything together.

_Wind Release: True Rasenshuriken! _

Sakura's eyes widened as Naruto threw the attack…to his feet. _**"NARUTO!"**_

Sakura couldn't breathe. She couldn't move even if she wanted too. Not even the sheer force of wind from his attack was enough to launch her backwards. When the attack cleared, everyone who was caught in the blast range fell lifelessly to the floor…including him. She could only watch in horror as the one bright star in her life…disappeared. She was lost; too lost in her own sub-consciousness that she failed to notice the swarm of ninjas that appeared out of the forest that rushed for her.

Without any warning, the men found a particular glow coming from above. That's when she noticed a flaming boy appearing over them with a spiraling sphere of blue chakra (the size of a house) that whipped and bent the air around it. There was no time to dodge, no time for anything.

_Big Ball Rasengan!_

Sakura's shoulders sagged as she collapsed on the ground. _It was only a clone. Naruto's alive. It was only a clone. _She repeated to herself, hoping that the uncontrollable shivering would come to an end. She heard the screams from Neji and the other medical ninja to get inside but she found it hard to focus on anything. She was exhausted, drained and on her final spurt of chakra. It was hard to stay awake.

How many days had it been since she last fell asleep? She didn't know.

Dazed and weakened greatly, Sakura knew she was moments away from passing out. That last bit of excitement had drained her dry. Before she fell into unconsciousness, Sakura took one final look into the distance to find a tall dark haired swordsman walking towards the area. His eyes were a darkened shade…of blood red.

A grin that resembled a tiger finding its next prey crawled up the man's face as he slowly trotted to the battlefield. The man's eyes glowed brightly and pink kunoichi suddenly found that her body refused to respond. She was unable to move or even think for that matter.

_Was this a Genjutsu?_

In the next moment there was nothing but black, an endless void of nothingness. Until…out of the blue, a pair of dark red eyes appeared and Sakura was engulfed in a raging torrent of pain.

* * *

><p>She opened her eyes with a scream, hurriedly covering her mouth letting out a strained muffled scream. She was so close to the edge of the bed that when she tried to move, she fell onto the floor with a crash, yanking half the sheets with her.<p>

_Another dream..._

She sighed heavily, wiping the sweat and tears from her face.

How many times was she forced to experience that memory? How long had it been since that day? She honestly didn't know. The days just seemed to fly by without her. But really and truly, it didn't matter. The pain that filled her heart was still an everlasting flame that burned away her heart, numbing her emotions.

Sakura wasn't sure how long she sat there on the bed, completely wide awake. Her sense of time, normally very keen, was completely skewed. It felt as though it had been days since that last time she last sleep. That was probable.

She closed her eyes tightly. The tremors in her body had finally subsided, the shock of what had happened slowly draining away like sand slipping through her fingers, leaving a torrent of furious emotions in its wake. She felt horrible, dirty, violated. She was afraid and she was angry.

She had been helpless, and that was probably the worst thing of all. She hated feeling helpless. It had always been the most horrible part of her time in the war. She could handle battling rogue ninjas, traveling through deadly environments, killing ferocious animals. She could brave temples and tombs and freezing snow, but it had always terrified her the most when she was helpless to act. Being disabled or completely _stopped, _being forced to watch her friends get hurt, or getting hurt herself, and being powerless to do anything about it but _wait_-that had been the worst.

That day had been just like that, only a hundred times worse.

She lazily got into her usual pink outfit, collected her medical supplies and made sure that she was prepared for a full day of exercise and training. This was a difficult feat for the young medic since her body seemed to reject her. She barely had any feeling in her hands and her body felt heavy. Moving around was becoming a more of a hassle than she thought.

Still, she had things to do and a unresponsive body was the least of her concerns.

She moved to her balcony ledge, scanning around the village in hopes that no one was awake. _Most people would be asleep at 1 a.m. anyway. _

She didn't leave through the front door, knowing full well that her parents would easily catch her in her daring escape (from reality). She climbed out of her balcony, and took to the roofs.

Sakura felt a little better being out of the house in the fresh morning air, being away from the place where she had been confined. She was used to picking her way through the roofs; it was familiar, and she had no trouble slinking through the darkness and shadows, finding the paths that would keep them hidden from prying eyes.

She made it to her destination without running into anyone or anything. Still, her heart was racing and her palms were sweaty when her vision cleared and she found herself standing on the outskirts of team seven's old training ground. She held her breath and stared at the grounds for a moment, half-afraid that someone from Konoha would appear, but nothing happened. Taking a deep breath, she turned and strode toward the three wooden posts.

"What are you doing?"

Sakura's head whipped around, with high hopes about the voice behind, but once she did she immediately felt regret. The blonde behind her could have been categorized as her 'best friend'.

"It's none of your business. Just leave me alone."

"Sakura you know I can't do that."

"Is it because Shisho ordered you to keep an eye on me?"

"I'm your friend! I'm worried about you!" The blonde argued.

"I'm perfectly fine!" The blonde cringed. That came out harsher than Sakura had anticipated but she went on, "I don't need a babysitter."

That outburst showed that Sakura was still human; that she could still _feel_.

In the back of her mind, Ino wondered if her friend had been replaced by a puppet of some sort because Sakura hadn't been the same ever since _then._

* * *

><p>Sakura stood completely still like she had been completely <em>stopped<em>. She couldn't believe what had happened. Not only did she fall under her previous team member's Genjutsu but she had been forcibly removed from the war and only just woke up minutes ago.

"I know that you've just come from the hospital, but as a returning solider of the Fourth Shinobi War and as a member of Team 7 I believe that it is your right to know this." Tsunade watched her apprentice very carefully. She wasn't exactly in the right mental state for this news but knowing her she wouldn't leave without it.

"The S ranked criminals; Kabuto Yakushi and _the Masked Man_ had been defeated by the combined efforts of Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha ultimately ending the Fourth Shinobi War." Tsunade noticed the bewilderment on Sakura's face. It killed her to speak of what followed.

"However, that makeshift team shortly fell apart and the two began a disastrous battle that lasted for days on end. Naruto was offered aid, but he wished to 'handle the sin of his best friend' on his own. In the end, after all was said and done, the survivor of the battle remains undecided."

"After the battle ceased…" Tsunade paused. "Neither Naruto's nor Sasuke's bodies were found in the aftermath. They were both marked as M.I.A (Missing in Action). However, this was found at the battle site."

Tsunade pushed Naruto's decimated and scorched headband forward. Tsunade waited patiently for some kind of reaction from the girl; a twitch, a tear – anything! But Sakura didn't move an inch. Tsunade watched Sakura closely but it was difficult to read her expression since her bangs were covering her darkened face.

"Shisho," Sakura spoke up after a long silence "Do you believe that they are gone?"

"Unfortunately, I was on the other end of the forest fighting my own life or death battle. I was completely unaware that the two even met. Had I known…I would…"

"Do you believe that they are gone?" Sakura asked again.

"The soldiers that witnessed their battle spoke of it with such distain and great fear. They said that no one could have survived Jutsu of the magnitude and power."

"_Tsunade-shisho, do you believe they are dead_?" Sakura asked more forcefully.

"Sakura!" Shizune need she couldn't understand how Sakura must have been feeling, but it was still no reason to shout at Tsunade.

"I apologize for my disrespectful tone."

"To answer your question; I don't know what to believe anymore. Blood, flesh, clothing; all of it was found at the battle site."

Sakura slowly let her master's words sink in for a moment before she responded. "I see. If that is all, I will be taking my leave now." The young kunoichi stated without a hint of distress in her voice.

"Oh, uh, yes. That will be all." Tsunade couldn't believe her own eyes. Sakura bowed deeply before she turned away.

"Sakura…" Shizune cried out, her eyes drowning in her own tears.

"Hai?" Rather than turn, Sakura notched her head in the assistant's direction.

"Shizune. Stop." Tsunade ordered.

"But-!"

"Shizune!" That's when Shizune noticed the tears that were pulling at the Hokage's eyes. Shizune silently withdrew and Sakura left without another word.

* * *

><p>Ever since that day, Sakura looked like she had been stripped of all emotion. She never smiled nor did her face reflect the deep sadness that plagued her heart. Those once bright emerald eyes were dead and gone; replaced with dulled pupils that failed to see any light.<p>

The flowery blonde wasn't the only one who was distressed about her mental state. The entire village was deeply worried about the once bubbly hospital nurse, but what could they say that hadn't already been said? What could they have done to ease and mend her shattered heart?

The war was finally over and peace had finally returned to the Shinobi world but there was still unrest within the villages. There were heavy losses from each village with the casualties ranging at an all time high. Even the Hokage was gravely injured during the war which lead to civil unrest within the leaf village about whether she would live through her wounds or not. Tsunade managed to pull through _- for now -_ but how much longer could she last?

There was even talk in the village council about replacing her _again_ but she quickly shut them up when she stormed into the council room - almost bleeding half to death. All the while, Tsunade's main concern wasn't her own wounds nor the council. Her village would bounce back to its former glory with time; however, her main concern did lie with her apprentice who was slowly but surely killing herself.

Sakura began to work her fingers to the bone; healing and nursing the mortally wounded soldiers from the war back to health. At first there was no problem since everyone knew she needed something to take her mind off her pain, but as time progress it seemed like more of an escape from reality. The worse part of it all was the fact that they couldn't stop her. It was her own way of grieving.

She was left alone to deal with her emotions but even that plan fell flat on her face when she began to use soldier pills when her body couldn't keep up with the days on end without sleep. Even those began to fail her when the days of fatigue began to set in. She was eventually forced to take some time off, but even then she refused to stay away from the hospital since there were people who needed her.

While that was true, she was slowly working herself to death. Tsunade was forced to take drastic action.

She was placed under house arrest but even so she disregarded her orders and came out on mornings to train. Even now Sakura was supposed to be home. She wouldn't stop even for a second.

Without a word Sakura continued on with her training, her friend watching closely from behind. She was always like this. Running off alone and working alone. She never once joined the group, saying that she didn't have time for them anymore. She was devoting her entire existance to her training and her work.

It was beginning to scare her.

"Sakura why are you doing this to yourself. This isn't you."

"This is the new me. I can't afford to stay the same anymore." Sakura replied in a monotone fashion. "The people of Konoha need strong shinobi who can protect them."

Ino didn't want to do this. It was only going to make things worse. "He wouldn't want this…"

Sakura shortly cringed, but continued her combat regime. "He isn't here."

"What do you think he'll say when he comes back to you like that?" Ino shouted.

"…he isn't coming back."

"He's always come back to you hasn't he? Even on the verge of death he always comes back!" Ino paused, calming herself down. "Why are you saying that like he's dead?"

"_Because he said it himself the night before he left!"_ Ino's froze.

"…I'm going to become stronger. I'm not going to be the useless one waiting on the sidelines for help anymore. I won't rely on others to make me stronger either. Shisho refused to train me further but that's fine with me. It's something I have to do on my own. I'll trudge through the gates of hell with my own to hands. If you can't understand that, then you're just in my way."

"Sakura…"

Sakura immediately halted in her tracks, slowly turning to her friend with genuine curiosity in her dulled eyes. "What is…this?"

"I'm so sorry, but it was for your own good." Ino apologized.

Sakura quickly brought her hand to her neck where Ino just stuck a syringe and pluck it out. She turned to her friend to find that she wasn't alone. Everyone else was there. "Why…?"

"If you continue on like this you're literally going to work yourself into your grave." Shikamaru sighed.

"And we don't w-want to l-lose anymore f-friends." Hinata's eyes seemed red. Had she been crying?

"Just get some rest. We can converse about this later." Sai added.

Before long, Sakura lost consciousness.

* * *

><p>As Ino tucked her heart broken friend back into her bed her eyes caught a glimpse of something amazingly rare. Sakura hadn't shed a single tear since Naruto and Sasuke were reported as missing; though most thought that they were both dead. Sakura could repress and ignore her emotions as much as she wanted but she could never lie to herself and her feelings. While she slept the tears she held onto so strongly would uncontrollably pour out.<p>

Ino was well aware of her parent's nocturnal torment. One day they sat down and told her that every night, they would pull at their hairs, being unable to ease their daughter's pain. They were forced to listen to her muffle sobs without any hope of helping what they treasured most.

Sakura was more honest about her emotions than she let on. There were even days she'd use her spare apartment key and let herself into Naruto's home. More than once did Ino find Sakura, huddled in the in the apartment she shared with _him_. More than once did she find Sakura idly staring at the old Team Seven photo.

Shortly after she had woken up, Sakura even asked if any of this was real. She wondered if this was all some sick Sharigan induced Genjutsu. The Young Uchiha _was_ the last thing she saw after all.

But she couldn't blame the tormented kunoichi for thinking that. If Shikamaru or Choji were gone under a similar situation she'd probably be the same. As a friend it was Ino duty to set her friend straight.

"_Sakura…this isn't a Genjutsu." _

Ino truly believed that it was her fault the way she was. She took the last piece of Sakura's mentally from under her. And for that, she would be eternally sorry.

It was Ino's turn to watch over Sakura tonight. With the amount Ino placed in the Syringe, added to Sakura's 86 hrs of sleep deprivation, she figured the salmon haired girl wouldn't wake up for another five days. _Hopefully._

She spread out her makeshift futon over Sakura's bedroom floor and rested her back against the wall. Ino tugged her thin blanket more firmly around her shoulders, her eyes roving over to the flickering television screen. She didn't know what show was on. She couldn't focus on anything in the physical world for long so she found herself staring into space constantly.

_Why am I even thinking about this? He'll be fine. He always is. He will come right through that door with the biggest grin on his face asking for bowl of ramen and wondering about the worried why Sakura looks so worn out._

She looked to the digital clock again which blinked 2:40 a.m.

_Naruto…please come home…she needs you more than ever… _


	10. Tears

0~o~0

Tears

0~o~0

* * *

><p>"Hi," the flowery blonde said cautiously, setting her pack on the floor as she entered the room.<p>

In response, the bedridden kunoichi held up a small bag, which Ino recognized instantly. "What is this?" she demanded.

It was her turn to watch over the sleeping beauty for the night, but as her luck would have it, Sakura was wide awake. 2 days earlier than she had exactly.

"Uh…"

"Because it looks like crushed Mako leaves."

It looked like a bag of powder, but she had undoubtedly opened it and smelled it. "Um…"

"Do you want to tell me why you have a dreamless sleeping powder in my room?" Ino had absolutely no defense. "No, before that, I want you tell me very clearly why you drugged me in the first place!"

"I was _trying _to help you, Sakura! You were out of control!" Sakura groggily stood up and threw the bag at her. The blonde caught it reflexively, wincing as the salmon haired kunoichi stormed over to her.

"I don't need help! I'm fine!"

"Before this you hadn't slept in days! How is that fine?"

Her forehead creased, and she replied "I could have handled it."

Ino closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. "Handled it? You weren't getting any sleep and when you did, you kept sleepwalking in the night crying and having nightmares and you say you're fine?"

"I _am_ fine!"

"You're _not_! Everyone can see it, Sakura, but you won't let anyone help you. You keep saying you can beat it, that you're fine, that you're stronger than this. Who are you trying to convince? The village or yourself?"

"What do you know about it?"

"Maybe more than you!"

"You can't possibly understand what it's like!"

Their voices were steadily rising, and Ino's desperation for Sakura and frustration at her were doing nothing to help. "When Asuma died, I was lost. I didn't know what to do or to think. I stopped eating, I stopped paying attention to myself, and I even ignored Shikamaru and Choji for a little while."

"_I was just like you!" _Sakura cringed._ "_But Shikamaru showed me that I wasn't alone in the world, he and Choji both showed me that we could get through it _together._ But you won't talk about it! You want to skip around and act like everything's all better now!"

Sakura glared at her fiercely, her voice dropping to a dangerous hiss. "I never said it was all better."

Ino gritted her teeth and met her glare, the blonde's own voice leveling out. "You never said it was all wrong, either."

"Back off Ino."

"This isn't Sasuke rejecting you and it's not failing to become stronger either. It's _different, _Sakura, and I know you don't want to be alone-"

"I'm fine being alone!"

"_No you're not!_"

She tossed the bag of powder back at Sakura. She stared down at the powder in her hand, and then at Ino with anger written all over her face. "Ino, I'm warning you. Back. Off."

"Not until you grow up."

Sakura finally just shook her head and stretched her arm out, doing the unthinkable. Ino could have honestly say she had seen this coming. She just didn't think that her radiating cheeks would sting _this_ much. Before her mind could react, her body already launched into action. It was only common courtesy that she returned the favor, right?

Unfortunately, Sakura followed that same mindset. Sakura quickly reeled her arm back and let loose a vicious haymaker directed at her friend's gut. Ino grinded against the wooden floor, but she wouldn't allow Sakura to get away with that. She immediately charged forward, avoiding Sakura's follow up blow, delivering a quick spin kick of her own that shot Sakura out of her room into the air.

Sakura recovered mid-air but Ino tackled her into a neighboring house, since there was nothing to hold the wall – the two crashed onto the street debris and all. It wasn't long until a girl was shot out of the debris. Ino flipped herself gracefully through the air, coming to a grinding halt on the ground. Ino wanted to be sure that none of the villagers got hurt but she had bigger things to worry about.

Sakura burst through the debris breaking into a reckless wild charge. Ino only had a split second to raise her arms in defense before the pink kunoichi delivered another vicious straight that caused her to tear down the street at an unimaginable speed.

Sakura had gotten stronger, this much she knew, but she didn't think that she had improved by _this much_. Ino could only stare in awe as her best friend pulled up and ran _alongside her_.

Before she could even make a comment on Sakura's physical improvement, the pink kunoichi already had a firm grip on her right leg and before she knew it she was at least 50 feet away from the ground. Losing all interest in being rag doll, Ino recovered finding herself a mere few feet away from the Konoha Main Gate.

With an unearthly grace Ino managed a less than safe landing on the gate - avoiding any broken legs in the process. Sakura smashed her foot onto the ground, allowing huge chunk of earth to pop out of the ground. She pounded them with her fist easily shooting them to her friend's position. Ino went into a crouch, grabbing the back railing of the gate, flipping backwards avoiding the projectiles and finally kicked off the gate launching herself into the forest.

Here they could go all out as much as they wanted. This was probably part of Sakura's plan. Ino noticed that Sakura had managed tried to avoid as much collateral damage as she could.

_She should be here right about..._

And there she was; a bitter scowl on her face with eyes that reflected the chilling darkness that was slowly consuming her.

Ino stopped for a moment and took a step back, realizing that the way she'd been acting wasn't the first she'd known; a certain someone had been received very poorly for her very same actions. Sakura needed to see what she was becoming - _who_ she was becoming.

A bird in the nearby treetop sensed the oncoming danger and fled to the skies - like a signal – the girls dashed towards each other.

_It was a sudden forward charge on both ends; they had every intention to finish this quickly. Sakura raised her arm as high as she could and slammed it down onto the girl. Ino gracefully slid around her blow, following up with a horizontal strike that the pink haired kunoichi easily dodged and countered with a brutal kick to the blonde's ribs._

"Don't you see what's happening to you?" Ino squeaked, offhandedly grabbing her ribs.

"All I see is a _nosy bitch who won't mind her own business!_"

Immediately after the girl's kick, Sakura charged wildly once more. Ino quickly evaded her vicious straight and delivered three destructive blows to Sakura's ribs, stomach and thigh.

Sakura immediately noticed that there wasn't much power behind her blows; was Ino going easy on her? _No matter._ She ignored his aching ribs and body and pressed forward._  
><em>

"What?" Sakura's entire body wouldn't stop shaking after those blows. It was like he was going through shell shock. "What's going on with my body?"

This was Ino after all; she trained under Tsunade-shisho as well. She knew the entirety of the human body. She knew exactly where to strike to get the results she wanted.

While Sakura maintained her defense from Ino's constant advances, she realized that this wasn't only a battle with her friend; she was wrestling with her own anger and frustration. Forcibly putting her to sleep shouldn't have made her feel so furious; she said she was trying to help, but…

Ino had done it without her consent. She had put something into her body, and she didn't care if it was harmless, she didn't care if it was just to keep her from having dreams, she didn't care if Ino thought it would help. It was _her _body, and she had _told _her that she didn't want any help.

"You didn't have any nightmares while you slept did you?"

"It doesn't matter. I could have handled it!"

Sakura imitated her first punch and again the blonde dodged to the right. Sakura smirked. Ino noticed it a few seconds too late. When she dodged, Sakura twisted her wrist and the kunoichi's tank top and pulled her in for a series of blows to her abdomen and chest. For her final move, she turned in the opposite direction, hunched her friend over her shoulder and threw her as hard as she could into a tree. _  
><em>

"Gah!" She groaned, "Why don't you think about what you're doing!"

"There is nothing to think about it!" Sakura retorted.

"So you're going to keep ignoring your body until it gives up on you?" With a hand on her back, the blonde groggily got up clearly in pain, only to be tackled into the tree by Sakura.

"Even if it does, I won't stop until I'm satisfied."

Sakura didn't want to think about it, not any of it. She was going to be _fine. _She was…

_You keep saying you can beat it, that you're fine, that you're stronger than this. Who are you trying to convince? The village or yourself? _

Sakura's argument rang through her head like a painfully loud bell. She pressed her hands to her ears, a reactive, instinctive gesture to try to block out the words, but they were in her head and they didn't stop.

This gave the blonde - who fell to the ground - some time to recover.

_You want to skip around and act like everything's all better now!_

She squeezed her eyes shut and suppressed a sob. She had to be okay. She had made it through so much; this was nothing in comparison.

Right?

_I don't want to think about it!_

When she opened her eyes, they landed on the blonde Kunoichi who was a mere centimeter away from her. Within a few seconds, Ino landed several crushing blows on the defenseless kunoichi before she grabbed Sakura's limp body by her collar and held her up.

"Why are you being so stubborn? Why can't you rely on your friends to help you? You don't have to do everything on your own!"

Sakura's jade eyes widened in realization. She had told Naruto a very similar thing.

No!

She _wasn't _going to rely on them. She was going to prove to Ino and everyone else that she didn't need them. She was going to prove it to herself. She wasn't going to be dependent upon her friends to keep her from suffering.

She didn't care. She just…didn't care. She felt angry, empty, betrayed, lonely, guilty, miserable, and she didn't want to look at her emotions too closely right now and find out why.

She didn't want to find out whether Ino was right. She had to be okay. She had to be okay…

Then, she said it. Words Sakura had never expected to hear. Words like poison that seeped into her heart and soul and ripped everything from the inside out.

You're acting just like Sasuke!

_Suddenly, she was sent back to her nightmare, clutching Naruto's body. _

_Naruto gazed at her with a smile, and Sakura looked into his face, only to see it start to change. His cheeks sank in, his skin growing pale and waxy as he wasted away before her eyes, until nothing was left but a skeleton. Then her vision was darkened entirely and she couldn't see anything._

She heard the sound of someone screaming…

Reality snapped back around her, and she realized she was on the ground with Ino's body doubled over next to her - her hands grasping her stomach.

An entirely different kind of panic filled her as she flung herself off the ground and to her side. Sakura was trembling hard as she healed her. When she was sure that the wound had closed and that her broken ribs were intact, she fell back, her arms wrapped around her knees, overwhelmed with horror.

She had just jammed her best friend's rib cage into her lungs. What if she had hit her right in the heart and she had died before she could do anything?

"Sakura…?"

She wavered for a moment, not knowing what to do and suddenly feeling completely overwhelmed, like a huge wave was crashing down upon her and she couldn't draw a breath. She saw Ino's bare feet moving to come close to her, and she flung her hands over head.

"Stay away from me!" Her voice was ragged and desperate.

"Look, I'm sorry, but I don't know what else to do to help you. How can I know what to do when you keep saying you don't need any help?"

Sakura looked up at her friend, her vision blurred with tears. "Why are you here, Ino? I almost killed you."

Ino crouched down beside her. "It's not the first time you've gone after me like this. I've gone after you too."

"It's not the same!" She clenched her hands into fists and pressed her forehead to her knees.

"I'm fine, Sakura." Who else but Ino could say that after what had just happened-whether or not she was actually fine? Probably Naruto, but that was beside the point. She was probably just saying it to make her feel better. "I'm okay."

"I'm not."

She was on her feet again, jumping over Ino and racing for the forest. Ino caught a hold of her little escape and she put her hands on the Kunoichi's shoulder and pulled her back against a tree.

"Sakura, we are going to talk about this."

"Leave me alone, Ino!"

"No, we're friends. We are going to talk about this." Her calmed voice seemed to be getting to Sakura. At least her hysteria went down a notch. "Now I want you to answer me clearly. Why are you so afraid of depending on your friends?"

"I…don't want to talk about this. I…I…"

"Sakura!"

"I don't to be anymore attached to you than I already am!" Ino kept herself impassive. After all, she had already known Sakura's answer for some time now.

"I don't want to be any closer! What if somewhere down the line something like this happens again? What if I'm too weak to stop it? I couldn't handle something like that! How could I?"

She hated herself for being weak and helpless. She hated herself for fighting her best friend and for yelling at her and for not wanting to see that she had been right about everything from the beginning. She hated herself for hating herself.

"Why are you doing this?" The tears that were now falling so fast that Ino's face was just a watery blur.

"Doing what?"

"Why are you going so far for me?"

There was a heavy, disbelieving pause, "We're friends; isn't that reason enough?"

For some reason, that made her feel worse than ever. She slid down against the tree, falling into Ino's chest muttering the words, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Sakura began to cry in earnest, and then with a short glance upwards, she realized Ino too was crying. "You finally get it."

"_Why? Why did he have leave me like this?_" Sakura uncontrollably poured her heart out. "_You idiot! Naruto you idiot! Naruto…_"

"I'm sorry it had to end this way Sakura," Ino paused, hugging her friend tightly, "We'll get through this. One step at a time."

In the shade of the forest, a tall glamorous woman silently watched the kunoichi come to terms with each other from a distance. After several eye witness reports of the Hokage's apprentices rampaging through her village, she decided to assess the situation herself. Originally, she thought she'd have to put them both down but from the look of it, everything sorted itself out.

This also doubled as a means of her getting away from her work for a few minutes.

With a loud sigh, the woman pressed her tired body against the tree trunk stealing a glance at Hokage faces. _Tell me...have I failed?_ _Was this destined to happen?  
><em>

It wasn't long until the tears she had long put away find its way back to her.

* * *

><p><em>AN: When I read this over first thing that came to mind was, 'Wow this is short'. Bad news guys. I've diagnosed myself with writers block. It's honestly becoming harder for me to write. It's really apparent in this chapter. Fight scenes could stand to be better. I might edit it later but for now I hope you enjoyed it._


	11. Dream

0~o~0

_Dream_

0~o~0

* * *

><p><em>Crash!<em>

Suddenly the front door came crashing down with a loud thud that echoed through the night.

Team 7 had been in charge of 'dealing' with a 'demon' infestation in a small village near the Land of Waves. They had been here for a week and it was pretty quiet…up until now. Oh of all the nights for Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi to be patrol around the village. They left her with a few guards to watch over the village leader, but based on the sounds Sakura heard they were already done for.

The girl noticed that a disfigured man appeared through the hallway, smelling around like the scent of something had attracted him. Was he the one who took the door down? Was he the one who took down the 20 armed guards on the way up the building? What was he?

His eyes made contact with the pink haired kunoichi and a sinister smile crept up his crippled face.

"Shirahama-sama! Please get to your room!"

"But what about you-"

"Go! Now!"

No sooner had she screamed did the frightened older gentleman run to the next room.

Without any hesitation the broken man sped up his disturbing limp as he proceeded towards the girl. As if a poison had spread through her body, she was rendered motionless. She couldn't pull out her kunai? She couldn't even move! _Genjutsu?_

Her breathing accelerated, her heart beat skyrocketed and her body became drenched in sweat.

He inched forward, his grin not once disappearing. What shocked was not the fact that he was limping on a seemingly broken leg but the fact that when he entered the light he didn't seem…human. He was balding right before her eyes. His skin was bare of any moisture, it was cracked and peeling. His leering eyes were blood red. He was so much like a zombie out of a movie.

Fighting the hold on her body the girl managed to hold up her arms defensively as she screamed "Go away! Go away! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

The decomposing man ignored her shrill cries, forcefully grabbing her by the arm lifting her to the skies. Like lightning he laid a quick flash of brutal hits to the kunoichi's face, torso and abdomen before he chucked her to the wall. He cracked a grin as he whispered slowly into her ear.

"We're going to have fun…"

"No…No…get away from me…GET AWAY!"

As if her prayers were answered…

Suddenly, she noticed a boy appeared between her and the monster. In a split second, she noticed that the boy had a spiraling sphere of blue chakra aimed against his chest.  
><em>Rasengan. <em>

When the sphere made impact, he was launched into the air at an incredible speed.

With lightning fast speed, another boy appeared a few meters above his body. He raised his arm that crackled with white lightning into the air, followed by the sound of what she thought were hundreds of birds.

_Chidori. _

The boy thrust downwards with enough force to bring the demon crashing back down creating a bright pillar of energy erupted that destroyed the very floor beneath them. The monster was shot five stories down to the ground floor. Sakura bathed in the light of the attack that could come from only two people. The two boys walked up to the girl, who was by now barely conscious.

"You should have called for us." The dark haired boy kneeled beside her inspected her wounds.

"We're a team for a reason, Sakura-chan." The blonde boy's voice ached with worry.

"Just take the green syringe from my bag and I'll be fine."

"I don't like needles. I don't want to see needles. I don't want to think about needles." The blonde shivered.

"_Dumbass_, she needs it."

"Then why don't you do it?"

"Fine." The dark haired boy proceeded to grab the syringe from her pack and applying it to her arm. She gritted her teeth at the injection at first but she began to ease up as the pain started to fade away.

"What do you think you were doing? You could have been killed." The boy glared.

"I'm sorry, but he used a genjutsu on me. I couldn't move." She shook the slight nausea she had been feeling and looked up to the boys. "Sorry guys, I'll…I'll do better next time…" Her eyes began to droop as the toxin was beginning to take effect.

"What…? I think you used the wrong vile…"

"No, I didn't." The raven haired boy muttered. "You're only a liability now. It's better if you were out of the mission."

"What are you doing?" The blonde screamed.

"Don't worry loser. It'll only put her to sleep. Let's bring her back before Kakashi comes to clean up."

The blonde didn't reply. He mumbled under his breath as he picked Sakura's unconscious body (princess style) and vanished into the darkness of the night. Amidst the searing darkness, a pair of blood red eyes opened up unleashing a surge of pain that washed over her entire body.

* * *

><p>She opened her eyes, hurriedly covering her mouth to prevent herself from screaming.<p>

She sighed heavily, wiping the sweat and tears from her face. Minutes before sunrise, only a set few in the village were astir including a certain pink haired kunoichi. As much as she'd like to get up and start the day, she didn't feel up to sneaking away. She fidgeted, tossed and turned but no matter how much she tried she couldn't find the strength to get up.

_A liability, huh? The more I train the more apparent that becomes. _

Sighing, she sat at the edge of the bed noticing that she wasn't alone in her room. Ino was off for the night and Tenten was currently on a mission in the Land of Waves which left Hinata to watch over her. It wasn't like Sakura needed a babysitter anymore. After two weeks of intensive house arrest since her breakdown, Sakura hadn't lost her urge for improvement but she did calm down considerably.

That only left the problem of her frequent nightmares.

She had a theory that these weren't mere nightmares. Like a stigma, they only served to inflict pain and suffering onto her body. She hadn't been exposed to any enemy jutsu since the war. This left only one possible solution; Sasuke's Genjutsu.

What had he done to her?

For all the dreams she could account for Sasuke was _always_ present. He could've…

_No…_

Was this her repressed subconscious? She tried and succeeded in blocking out her thoughts of him since Naruto's presence cancelled out her memories of him. But now that he was gone, all her repressed memories and thoughts were crashing down on her. She thought she had long moved passed all of this but it was seemingly more apparent to her. She hadn't taken a step forward, she took several back.

She bit down on her lower lip, applying enough force to draw blood. "Why did I ever fall in love with a person like him anyway? He's a rogue! A criminal! A murderer!

Sakura hurriedly covered her mouth remembering the sleeping raven haired girl but it was too late for that. Hinata began to stir, tears dripping down her face.

"Sakura-san…? I-is everything alright?"

"That's my line." Sakura hastily shook off her anxiety with a shrug, walking over to her dresser for a box of tissues. "Here"

"…t-thank you." The Hyuga clan heiress gingerly accepted the box and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Bad dream?" Sakura asked.

"N-not exactly…"

Sakura always noticed that there was a painfully awkward silence that followed whenever Hinata was around.

Sakura figured that it was because they suffered similar pains; losing the one they loved. There was no doubt that Hinata loved the Naruto. It became more apparent as the years went by; the frequent blushing and faint spells could only go so far before she began to catch on. She felt immensely guilty because of this.

She took Naruto all for herself when there was someone out there who truly loved him. Not like her, who used his love to rid her of her own pain. It was only along the way did she realize that she _was_ in love with him. But that still didn't change the fact that in her confused state she broke her friend's pure heart.

Even after the initial shock with Naruto's announcement, Hinata always kept her smiling face up but the salmon haired kunoichi knew it was only a brave face.

Surprisingly, Sakura wasn't the one to break up the painful silence this time "…I-it's just hard to b-believe that he's actually g-gone…"

Sakura hummed, not really answering. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms them. She didn't want to fall asleep in fear of another nightmare. Maybe she should strike up a conversation with Hinata in the meanwhile. But what was there to say?

Sakura knew what she had to do. She was procrastinating. She sighed heavily, focusing her gaze into the darkest part of the room.

"Hinata…I'm sorry."

"H-huh?"

"I'm…sorry. I knew how you felt about him, but I still…"

Hinata's facial expression changed from surprised; to confused then finally depression but even then she managed a small smile as she slowly shook her head. "Y-you don't have to a-apologize about a-anything. Naruto-kun made his d-decision. Even I knew s-something like this would h-happen."

"It's not so much a decision as it was chance…"

"W-what do you mean?"

"He wasn't the one who confessed to me. It was the other way around." Sakura kept her eyes focused on the darkness. She didn't have the heart to face Hinata anymore.

"Oh…but h-he was always in l-love with you, so he m-made that d-decision a long time ago." The raven haired girl turned her head to the window, looking out into the dim skies. "B-besides, he a-always said that 'I was too gloomy'. H-he will never see in the s-same light as you."

"We can't be too sure of that," Sakura sarcastically chuckled "For all we know he could have been in love with the both of us but too dumb and blinded by one person to notice his feelings for you."

"T-that seems way too f-farfetched to be true…"

"It's possible." After all, Sakura was a walking example of that.

"Even so, he'd have chosen you."

"How do you figure?"

Sakura's eyes widened as the Hyuga heiress broke away from the night sky, turning to her with a simple smile curving up her lips along with a single tear drop that fell down her cheek. The raven haired girl had the same expression that Naruto wore before he left to fight Sasuke.

"It's because you both mean the world to each other and no one can change that."

_Hinata…that's not fair._Sakura hung her head was the final blow.

_You…still believe that he's alive. You even sound like you're entrusting him to me. Don't do that…I'm a mess. I'm still thinking about someone I shouldn't…I'm still in love with him…I…_

_Don't show me that face…__please… _

"…you're just like him." Sakura muttered under her breath.

"I-I am?"

"You're strong, stronger than I could ever hope to be."

"W-w-what are you saying?" Sakura didn't respond.

_Oh no!_ Hinata quickly got up from her Futon and braced herself. She took in a few short breaths muttering to herself 'You can do this! You can do this!'.

"S-sakura-san!" Hinata cried out.

Sakura found many things strange with the current situation. She felt two warm globes being squished against her face, robbing her of air. She struggled to raise her head in the space between Hinata's mounds.

"Hinata…" The pink kunoichi kept her voice leveled.

"Y-yes!"

"…what are you doing?"

"U-um, Ino-san said that 'If Sakura looks like she's about to cry, scream out her name and hug her face with your breasts. Don't mind her if she protests, she secretly likes big boobies. It's one of the reasons she loves Tsunade-Shisho."

"…_I'm going to kill her._"

"W-what why?"

Suddenly, as if a siren went off, Sakura heard distant screams of terror from outside her room.

A gentle breeze wafted through her open window, the cold air she anticipated never came. Instead a warm wind brushed over her body. _Strange,_ she thought it had been the middle of the night the wind couldn't possibly be warm.

She flew off her hold on her legs and made her way to the window. She gasped as she watched the sight that unfolded before her. The sky was painted bright crimson and the forest just outside of the village was set blaze. Not only that, but the flames seemed to follow a rather large shadow. It tore through the trees leaving nothing behind in its wake.

Sakura was speechless; the fire was now spreading outwards. There was no way that Tsunade had not known of this monster.

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew into her room momentarily knocking her from her train of thought. The wind blew her curtains aside and threw her lighter knickknacks around. She felt something - something familiar within that gust of wind. Chakra; a dark an evil Chakra filled the air.

_No…way…_

That was when her fears came into realization. As if chanting, the villagers who fled they all repeated words that continued to shake Sakura through her core each time it was screamed.

_THE NINETAILS IS ATTACKING._


End file.
